CoLu Week 2017
by samuel.bryant17
Summary: So, it's that time of the year again: CoLu Week. What you are about to read are my personal take on the given prompts: Day1) Blossoms, Day2) Pool, Day3) Endearment, Day4) Hollow, Day5) Serpent, Day6) Invitation, Day7) Frost, and Bonus) Curse.
1. Chapter 1

Hello everyone. Once again, it's that time of the year: CoLu (Cobra x Lucy) Week; August 4th - August 12th with a BONUS Day on August 13th.

The prompts for the week are as follows:

 **Day 1:** Blossoms

 **Day 2:** Pool

 **Day 3:** Endearment

 **Day 4:** Hollow

 **Day 5:** Serpent

 **Day 6:** Invitation

 **Day 7:** Frost

 **Bonus:** Curse

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Now just so that everyone knows this is my **FIRST** time at writing for a Ship Week. It's also my **FIRST** time publishing any fanfiction stories, but not my **FIRST** time writing fan fiction; I've been working on a Mirza (Mirajane x Erza) Family story based off a fan art I saw on DeviantArt, and styled after one of my **FAVORITE** BixLu (Bickslow x Lucy) fanfiction story, "How I Met You" by the wonderfully delightful, apiiil. I figured that it would be easier to write prompted stories first than writing a full-length chapter story of my own creation. So, with that said: **PLEASE** be patient with me. I really hope that you will enjoy my contributions to CoLu Week 2017. Constructive criticism is welcomed, but any hateful/hurtful reviews will be **REPORTED** and **DELETED** ; so, keep that in mind when reviewing.

These may not get posted on the day that they are supposed to, and it may take longer than the allotted week to get all of the prompts written and posted, but rest assured that I will be doing my best to complete all of the prompts for **CoLu Week 2017**.


	2. Chapter 2: BLOSSOMS PART 1

Konnichiwa minna-san. So, it's time to get things started. Here is my first entry for **CoLu Week 2017** : **Blossoms**. Enjoy.

' _Thoughts'_

"Speech"

" **Attacks/Spells"** – **"Fairy Sphere"**

" **Location** **"** - **"** **Lucy's Apartment** "

" _Nickname/Title"_ - _"Titania_ "

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

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 **Blossoms: PART 1**

It was another beautiful morning in the quaint town of Magnolia, and today is the day of the famed Hanami Festival, when the Rainbow Sakura trees blossom. Just like with every other festival that occurs within Magnolia the local Mage's Guild, Fairy Tail, plans something special for the day, and Fairy Tail's resident buxom blonde Celestial mage, Lucy Heartfilia is excited. The first Hanami Festival after Lucy joined the guild she had been unable to attend the festivities due to the flu, then she and several of her guild mates were frozen in time for seven years, then Tartaros happened and the guild disbanded and she had moved to Crocus to work at "Sorcerer's Weekly", then the war with Alvarez and Acnologia occurred, so this will be the first time Lucy actually gets to enjoy the splendor of the Hanami Festival.

On this particularly gorgeous morning the Independent Mage's Guild, Crime Sorciere, is camped just outside of the lovely town of Magnolia. Crime Sorciere is a guild of former convicted criminals, all of whom were granted Royal Pardons for their valiant efforts in the war against the Alvarez Empire and Acnologia. The reason they are so close to the town is because their Guild Master, Jellal Fernandes, had promised his lovely girlfriend, Erza Scarlet- "Titania: Queen of the Fairies"- of Fairy Tail, that he and his guild would stop by Magnolia for the Festival, and Jellal isn't stupid enough to renege on a promise to Erza; no one dares to cross her lest they incur her vengeful wrath.

Lucy woke just after sunrise as she normally does, and blissfully alone in her bed for a change; her best friend and team mate, Fairy Tail's Fire Dragon Slayer: Natsu Dragneel, use to sneak into Lucy's apartment during the night just to sleep in her bed making it unbearably warm with is unnaturally high body temperature, but since the guild reformed before the war Natsu hasn't been doing that because he finally admitted and announced his feelings for Lisanna Strauss, the youngest of the Strauss siblings and Take-over Mage. Feeling well rested for a change Lucy decided to forego her usual morning bath to go out into the forest on the outskirts of the town to get in some, much needed in Lucy's opinion, training with her Celestial Spirits.

Upon reaching her designated training grounds Lucy finds the camp for Crime Sorciere. ' _Well there goes my plans of getting in some training this morning'_ Lucy thought to herself, completely forgetting the magical ability of one of the members of Crime Sorciere, Erik also known as Cobra: Poison Dragon Slayer/Soul Listening Mage. And unfortunately for Lucy her bumbling through the underbrush to reach her usual training area had caught the attention of Cobra, so he was awake and alert. Fortunately, Cobra heard Lucy's soul just before she entered the clearing Crime Sorciere was camped in, so he relaxed slightly not bothering to alert the rest of the guild to someone approaching their location. _'Damn. Her soul sounds like a beautiful orchestral arrangement of angels'_ Cobra thought as he continued listening to the blonde approaching the camp taking up a position behind a tree close to where the Celestial mage would be entering the clearing from.

Ignoring the fact that he already knew why Lucy was there Cobra gruffly asked her, "What the fuck are you doing up at the ass-crack of dawn for, Blondie? And why the fuck are you stumbling around the forest at this GOD forsaken hour?". Completely caught by surprise the blonde beauty turned, keys in hand, ready to defend herself, but upon seeing who had addressed her Lucy slightly dropped her guard. "Dammit Cobra!" Lucy screeched. "You nearly gave me a heart attack. As for why I'm up and traipsing about in the forest at this hour; I was coming out here to do some training with my spirits." Lucy answered frustrated at not being able to get in her training, and slightly flustered after taking in the Poison Dragon Slayer's shirtless appearance. _'Damn! He looks so yummy. That mocha colored skin- I wonder if it tastes like mocha. Bad Lucy! Bad! Stop thinking perverse things like that. But those abs; they look like a washing board- perfect for washing my now soaking wet panties. Dammit, bad Lucy!'_ Lucy thought. Upon hearing these naughty thoughts Cobra's eye went wide with surprise. _'Damn. Who knew that Blondie had such a dirty mind. It's completely contradictory to her angelically pure soul.'_ Cobra found himself thinking. Letting out a small chuckle, and mischievously smirking at the buxom blonde beauty before him, "You do know that I can _hear_ everything that you think?" he asked. _'Shit! Shit! Shit! How the heck could I have forgotten that he can hear thoughts? I'm just feeding the stereotype of being a "_ _dumb blonde_ _".'_ Lucy berated herself in her head, again forgetting that Cobra could hear her. This just made Cobra chuckle louder. _'What a great way to start off my day. It's so much fun fucking with people, especially people who aren't in this fucked-up guild. Sounds like the blueberry is waking up.'_ Cobra thought to himself.

Chuckling to himself again Cobra locks eyes, well eye in his case since he only has one, with Lucy and says "Well Blondie you're just in time for breakfast. The others are just starting to wake up". And almost as if on cue Jellal exited his tent taking in their surprise early morning visitor after rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Lucy! How did you know that we were here? And More importantly, what brings you way out here this early?" Jellal asks with hoping that he kept his surprise out of his voice. "She didn't know we would be here 'Blueberry'. And as to what she's doing out here at the ass-crack of dawn is she was hoping to train with her spirits, but we're camped where she normally trains." Cobra answered his guild master.

Just then a loud scream was heard, "LUCY!". Lucy looking past Jellal she is blinded by a blur of Cotton candy pink and being tackled to the ground. Jellal and Cobra, both shaking their heads in exasperation over their guild mate's antics, say at the same time; "Meredy/Pinky. Please/Fucking let Lucy/Blondie up before you smother her." With Cobra adding, "And for fuck's sake go put on some more clothes before you give Midnight another nosebleed.". Meredy relinquished her hold on her blonde friend and helped her to her feet before dashing back to her tent to get dressed before Midnight could see her in sleep-wear, again, and get a nosebleed; the last time it was nearly half a day before Midnight recovered enough to move. Dusting herself off while making sure that she is properly covered so as to not cause any unnecessary nosebleeds, Lucy addresses Jellal; "It's as Cobra said, I didn't know that you guys would be here- in fact I didn't even know that you were going to be anywhere near Magnolia. And this is where I normally train. But it's so nice to see you guys all the same". And in her head Lucy thought, _'Though I wouldn't mind seeing more of the sexy man standing behind me. It should be illegal for someone to be that damn sexy. Good thing I haven't taken a bath yet, because these panties are so soaked that they're ruined. Of course, Cobra isn't entirely to blame for my panties- having my face smothered by Meredy's bountiful breasts added to it. The girl's boobs are almost as big as mine. Damn it's so gonna suck walking home with how soaked these panties are. But if I asked Meredy or Angel to borrow a pair they will get suspicious, and Meredy is just as bad as Mira about matchmaking. I could ask Virgo for a clean pair of panties, but she'll get ideas and ask for "Punishment", and I really don't want to have to deal with that right now. Guess I'll just have to suck it up- though I'm sure Cobra has something I could suck. No! Bad Lucy! Stop think things like that!'_ Cobra really couldn't help the smug smirk that now adorned his face. But Cobra was now experiencing a problem of his own; a tightening of his jeans caused by staring at Lucy in her tight fitting spandex training outfit and watching her get smothered by Meredy's big tits.

Jellal, completely oblivious to Lucy and Cobra's predicaments, started talking; "Well Lucy, since you are unable to train because of where we are camped, and you being here at this time, you're more than welcome to join us for breakfast.". "No. That's quite alright Jellal. But thank you for the offer. I think I'll just head home to take a bath and get ready for the day. But if you don't feel like starting a fire and cooking you could always go to the guild; Mira's usually there by now." Lucy said in response to Jellal's offer. "Bath? Did I hear someone mention taking a bath?" was heard being yelled from across the encampment. "Um. Yeah. I said I was gonna go home, take a bath and get ready for the day." Lucy nervously said back. The inquirer about a bath popped out of a tent just then; that person being Sorano, also known as Angel. "For the love of all that is holy take me with you!" Angel screeched. "I'm so sick of bathing in rivers, streams, and lakes! We've been moving around for over three months now. And not once have we stopped and stayed anywhere that I could take a nice relaxing bath!" Angel continued to screech while approaching Lucy and her two male guild mates. Lucy was perplexed by what Angel was asking, and outraged by what Angel had said about not having a proper bath in months. Infuriated, and disgusted, Lucy turned to Jellal poking him in the chest she unleashed her fury at him, "Angel, grab your things and Meredy. You can come to my place and take baths, and properly wash your clothes.". At this Angel hightailed it back to her tent to gather her things and grab Meredy. After Angel had left to do as commanded Lucy continued to berate Jellal, "And you! Three fucking months?! In all that time, you couldn't have checked into a hotel at least once a week to properly bath and wash clothes! That is utterly disgusting! Even Natsu, who's house looks like a pig sty, properly bathes at least one a week if not more! And while bathing in rivers, streams, and lakes is fine for a while, it's not something that should be done regularly! And it especially shouldn't be done by girls!" Now directing her fury upon Cobra, "And you! Get the others and head for Fairy Tail. There's a public bath, and laundry, there that you guys can use to clean up. And afterwards I'm sure Mira will be more than happy to provide you with a delicious, healthy, and hot meal.".

Turning back to Jellal, who was sheepishly making his way back to his tent to pack up and head to Fairy Tail, Lucy growled out, "I was not finished talking to you Jellal!". He abruptly stopped, as did all other activity in the camp, and turned back to face the highly irate blonde, ' _She's scarier than Erza when mad.'_ Jellal thought, and Cobra having heard this couldn't agree more with his Guild Master having been on the wrong side of a "Mad Erza" a time or two himself. ' _Has Blondie been taking lessons from Titania? Man she is scary, and it's seriously turning me on even more.'_ Cobra thought."Jellal, you just wait until Erza hears about the conditions that you've had your guild members living in. And don't think for a second that I won't tell her when I see her later today, Jellal." Lucy ranted. At this every member of Crime Sorciere gulped.

"You've all been granted pardons by the Royal family for your past crimes, Jellal, so there is no reason that you can't get hotel rooms every so often. The new Magic Council has been trying to persuade Erza into convincing you to register your guild as a _Legal_ Guild. Master even said that you could use the building that Fairy Tail used for a Guild Hall when we were trapped in **Fairy Sphere** for those seven years. It's located outside of Magnolia. And if you don't want to be close to any towns I could let you use the Heartfilia Konzern, since I own it and am not using it; though there are things there that I don't have room for that I want. And the Servant's Quarters are nice and spacious enough that everyone could have their own space." Lucy stated. Jellal was dumbfounded at hearing Lucy's offer. ' _Maybe it is time for us to establish a permanent Guild Hall._ ' Jellal thought. "Are you sure Lucy? Your family home, from what I've heard, is quite luxurious." Jellal asked. Cobra and the others were also dumbstruck after hearing Lucy offer to let them use her family's estate as their permanent base of operations. ' _That place is HUGE. I nearly got lost in it looking for anything of value when the Seis went there after we broke out before that whole clock incident. Come to think of it I don't think any of us has apologized to Lucy for that._ ' Angel thought from where she stood packing up her things to go to Lucy's apartment in town for a proper bath. "Of course, I'm sure Jellal. Like I said, I'm not using, and don't have any plans to use it anytime in the future. But there are some things there that I want but don't currently have the room for in my place." Lucy responded with her brilliant cheerful smile.

"That's all fine and nice, and we can discuss it further later, but right now I _really_ want to get going so I can take proper bath." Angel said after finishing packing up her things. There was a chorus of agreement from the other members of Crime Sorciere, even from the narcoleptic Midnight. "You are absolutely correct Angel. We will have to discuss Lucy's offer of using her family's home as our permanent Guild Hall, and the Council's request for us to become a _Legal_ Guild. But for now, let us all head into town so that we can all bathe, and wash our clothes." Jellal said. Taking that as permission for her to leave Angel grabbed Meredy and Lucy as she started the trek through the forest to get to town and a hot bath, with the guys following close behind.

 **A few hours later at Lucy's apartment:**

Angel sat on Lucy's couch wrapped in a fluffy towel while using another one to dry her long silvery-blue hair. "Man, I forgot how good a nice hot bath feels. And being able to properly shave my legs. Thank you so much for letting Mer and me use your bath Lucy. I feel like a million Jules." Angel contentedly said. Meredy, now dressed in a pair of teal-green lacy booty-shorts and matching bra she borrowed from Lucy while her clothes are being washed, stuck her head out of Lucy's small kitchenette says around the spoon in her mouth, "Yeah Luce. Thanks for everything. These booty-shorts and bra are super cute. I'm surprised that the bra actually fits me." Lucy, giggling at how much the pinkette reminds her of her best friend and team mate, as she steps out of the steamy bathroom wrapped in her fluffy towel and drying her hair says back; "It's no problem you guys. I figured that this would be better than using the Guild's baths since the Men's and Women's are adjoining.". Lucy giggles even more remembering the time that Natsu brazenly walked into the Women's side of the Guild's baths. This of course didn't go unnoticed by the silverette and pinkette, and both women asked; "What's so funny Lucy?". "I was just remembering a time after the Grand Magic Games when Natsu walked into the Women's side of the Guild's baths when all of the girls were in there just because Erza called for him. The idiot didn't even bother covering himself first. Unfortunately for me I slipped on a bar of soap and fell into the bath just before Natsu used his magic to superheat it. I was redder as Erza's hair, and not from anger either." Lucy said, still giggling. Lucy moved over to her dresser to get panties and a bra to wear looked back over her shoulder to ask Angel, "Hey Angel? Did you want to borrow something to wear, or were you gonna wait for your clothes to finish washing and drying?". Angel, getting up off the comfy couch, sashayed over to where the blonde was; taking a look in the open drawer of bras and panties was shocked. ' _I can't believe that she wears panties like these; if you can even call them panties._ ' Angel thought to herself. Lucy dropping her towel picked up a pair of lacy maroon thong panties and matching bra to wear while Angel deliberated her options. Meredy, now walking over to Lucy's closet to find something to wear, didn't fail to notice Lucy's choice of bra and panties. ' _Hmm. Cobra will like those. They match his hair perfectly. And I definitely noticed the way they were staring at each other back at camp._ ' Meredy thought as she sifted through the many clothes in the closet trying to decide what to wear. Angel also noticed Lucy's choice in bra and panties, and the " _matchmaking_ " look on Meredy's face. ' _Oh lord. Mer's gonna try and set Lucy and Cobra up. This is not gonna end well._ ' Angel thought as she picked out a pair of lacy blue with white trim booty-shorts and bra for herself to wear.

 **Meanwhile at the Fairy Tail Guild Hall in the Public Bathes**

The men of Crime Sorciere were enjoying their first hot bathes in quite some time. "Man, this feels great." Racer, also known as Sawyer, said as he laid against the edge of the large tub. "I have to agree wholeheartedly with you Sawyer. Oh yeah!", Hot-eye, also known as Richard, says as he too lounges in the tub. "I wonder what the girls are doing?" Midnight, also known as Macbeth, asks to no one in general as he massages the shampoo into his black and white hair. "Oi! That's not what you're really wondering Mid. Your ass just wants to know what color panties Pinky is wearing.", Cobra chuckled, knowing full well that that is exactly what his friend was thinking about. But before he could continue to tease Midnight further about his crush on the young pinkette the doors to the baths burst open, and in walked the one person that none of the men in the room wanted to see in there while they were naked, Erza Scarlet. "JELLAL!" the redheaded Requip mage roared. All the men gulped in fear of the " _Queen of the_ Fairies" and scattered to cover up their nakedness. "Er…Er…Erza?" Jellal sputtered in pure fear and mortification at his childhood friend, and crush seeing him and the other male members of his guild naked. "Wh-what are you doing in here? This is the Men's Bathes." Jellal stated nervously. "I just arrived at the guild, and Mira informed me that you all were in here. I also heard from Lucy that this is the first proper bath any of you have had in over three months." Erza growled. Cobra, Racer, Midnight, and Hot-eye, now clad in towels, all gulped in fear and said a prayer for their Guild Master. ' _The poor bastard is about to die and he doesn't even know it_ ' they all thought. It was just then that Cobra noticed something different about _Titania_ ; she wasn't dressed in her usual armor, and in her hands, were a stack of folded clothes. "Oi, _Titania_! Before you bludgeon Blueberry over there for his lack of judgment could you set our clothes down on the bench over there by the lockers and turn your back long enough for the rest of us to get dressed and leave?" Cobra asked, praying to whatever deity would hear him that she would smack him with that fucking humongous hammer of hers again- that shit hurt. Realizing that she is in a room of naked men, only one of whom she has any real interest in seeing nude, Erza blushed the same shade of red as her hair and sputtered out, "Of- Of course. I will just leave you all to finish up and get dressed then. And you can thank Kinana for rushing to get these cleaned for you all.". Before turning back, she looked pointedly at Jellal, and through gnashed teeth said: "You and I will be having words about your conduct, among other things Jellal.", and turned on her heel heading back towards the doors, dropping the freshly laundered clothes on the bench near the lockers. After seeing, and hearing, the doors to the bathes slamming shut behind the flustered Erza, the men of Crime Sorciere hurriedly finished washing and drying themselves before getting dressed in their fresh, clean clothes; Cobra enjoying the sweet smell of the chemicals that were used all the while thinking: ' _I wonder how good Blondie smells? I should probably give her different nickname since the overgrown light socket also calls her "Blondie". But I'm definitely gonna thank Cu for the clothes. I also wonder what kinda poisons the Demon has lying around that I could drink or eat? Heh. I'm sure Cubellious- "Kinana", I gotta remember that her name is "Kinana" not Cubellious- will fix me up with something good._ '. Now finished dressing, Cobra heads for the doors to go back up to the main Guild Hall, shouting over his shoulder; "I'm gonna go see about getting the Demon to fix me some food. See y'all upstairs.", and with that he left.

 **Back at Lucy's apartment**

Lucy, now fully dressed in a mid-thigh length black pencil skirt, dark maroon Hearts Kreuz graphic Tee-shirt, and knee-high maroon socks, is helping Meredy and Angel pick out outfits from her closet for them to wear. "OH! Meredy this would look super cute on you." Lucy said while holding out a pleated blue knee length skirt and a white V-neck tank-top. "I don't know Lu? Blue and white are more Angel's style." Meredy says. Said woman turns back from the closet with a cocked finely manicured eyebrow and says; "Nah. The skirt's too long for my liking, and the neckline doesn't show enough of the " _girls_ ".", pushing up her abundant blue and white trimmed bra clad breasts for emphasis before turning back to the closet in search of something for herself to wear. With her head still in the closet Angel asks Lucy; "Hey, Lucy? Did I her you talking to Erza earlier?". "Um, yeah. I contacted her on my Communications Lacrima while you were starting the laundry and Meredy was in the bath. Why?", Lucy said back. "No reason in particular. But did you tell her that Jellal kept us on the move for three months, only bathing in rivers and such?" Angel asks in response, now looking Lucy in the eye with an arched eyebrow. "I most certainly did. There is no reason for you to have to live like nomads anymore, and Erza quite agrees about that. I also told her that I offered to let you guys use the Konzern as your permanent Guild residence." Lucy proudly stated. Meredy, who was halfway through with putting her shirt on having decided to wear the offered blue skirt and white tank-top, curiously asked: "And how did Erza take that bit of information?". Sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck and looking at the floor like it held all the answers Lucy replied; "Well… She was a little unhappy at the thought of you guys being so far away from here. She is really hoping that you'll move into the back-up Guildhall, and settle here in Magnolia. But then she remembered how vast the Konzern is, and thought that would probably be better for you all to have all that room to roam about. That and you wouldn't have to find places to live because you can just stay in the manor itself, or the Servant's Quarters since the servants all had their own houses on the estate; it's like a town unto itself".

Meredy, now fully dressed, grabs Lucy's arms and asks; "Lucy, just how big is your family's place?". Even more nervous, and still staring a hole in the floor, Lucy replied; "Um, about 60 square miles.". Both Meredy and Angel were stunned into silence upon hearing how much land the Heartfilia's owned. ' _No wonder it felt like forever before we reached the main house._ ' Angel thought. Shaking off her shock, Meredy asks; "And the manor? How big is that?". "Um. It has something like 30 bedrooms all with their own on suite. The Grand dining room is roughly the size of the main hall at Fairy Tail, and so is the Ballroom. Then there are like three libraries; mama's, father's, and the common library. Not to mention the Conservatory, and the parlors and studies; there's like three of each of them.", Lucy says even more nervously as she doesn't like talking about the life that she left behind to become a mage.

Angel, after finally picking out an outfit to wear; a pair of denim shorty shorts and Passion-pink tank-top, steps out of the closet and asks, "Why the hell did you leave all of that luxury behind to become a simple Guild Mage?". Letting out a long sigh, Lucy sits down on her bed bracing herself to explain, once again, why she ran away from that life. "Mama died when I was 8, and after that father became cold and distant; focusing more on work than me. I wasn't ever allowed off the Konzern, and I had no friends; besides the spirits that my mama left me." Lucy began explaining, doing her best to hold back the tears that threatened to spill from her now watery eyes. Meredy, sensing Lucy's pending distress sits down beside the blonde throwing an arm around her shoulders and pulls her in for a reassuring side hug and says; "It's okay Lu. If it's that hard for you to talk about you don't have to.". Leaning her head on the pinkette's shoulder Lucy quietly says, "Thanks Mer. But I think you need to know so that you won't think that I'm just "spoiled little rich girl playing at being a mage".". Keeping her head on Meredy's shoulder, and wrapping her own arm around the pinkette's waist, Lucy continued her explanation; "With as cold and distant as my father became, and having no one to play with, that place became like a prison to me. Then after I turned 16 my father began negotiating marriage contracts for me. It was then that I realized that he no longer saw me as his daughter, but as a tradable commodity to be sold off to the highest bidder; so, I packed a bag, grabbed the few keys I had at the time, and a couple thousand Jules and left. I traveled around for a year doing odd Independent Mage jobs and a few others to make the Jules I had taken with me stretch further, and acquiring keys when I could. Then one day after I turned 17 I was Hargeon; that's where I not only got Plue's key, but also where I met Natsu. I was nearly duped by a smooth-talking creep named, Bora of Prominence, who was using **Charm** and **Sleep** to lure unsuspecting women away to be sold as slaves in Bosco. Natsu and Happy rescued me. After Natsu beat Bora he grabbed hold of my wrist and dragged me back here so that I could join Fairy Tail. It wasn't until after my father had hired Phantom Lord to bring me back home that I stepped foot on the grounds just so that I could tell him off. It wasn't long before we fought Oracion Seis that my father basically lost everything because Duke Sawarr Junelle was furious that his marriage proposal had been refused; the man is a disgusting sweaty pig, and more than twice my age. The last time I spoke to or saw my father he was heading to Acalypha to work at "Love and Lucky"; he had the audacity to demand that I give 10,000 Jules. He died about three months before I got back after being trapped on Tenroujima Island for seven years. But in all the time that I was gone he never stopped believing that I was still alive. He even went so far as to pay my rent, and sending me presents on my birthday. I just wish that I could have made things right with him.". By the end of her explanation Lucy's tears are free falling. Angel, now dressed, hangs her head in shame for ever thinking bad of Lucy, while Meredy is full-on crying after hearing her friend's tale and remembering how arduous her own childhood had been.

Sniffling, and wiping away her last few remaining tears, Lucy springs up from her bed and snatching Cancer's key she turns to her guests and says; "Now let's finish getting ready ladies. **Open Gate of the Giant Crab: Cancer!** ". The room was filled with a blinding light and a puff of reddish smoke. "What kind of doo do you want today, Shrimp? Ebbi!" the Zodiac Celestial Spirit asks with a snip-snap of his scissors. Giggling at the spirit's antics Lucy looks at one of her oldest and dearest friends, and asks: "You up for a triple header, Cancer?" pointing to her two companions behind him. Turning around to look at what his key holder is pointing at the Zodiac spirit takes in the sight of Lucy's two guests. "I'm going to make you ladies look absolutely gorgeous. Who's first?" he says with another snip of his scissors.

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So, without the " **Author's Notes** " this was over 5,000 words. That being said, I'm splitting this into 2 parts. Now I know that you are all like; "WTH! You haven't even written any CoLu stuff!". Don't worry. I'm getting to it. I'm just building up to it. When I sat down with my Spotify on _Shuffle_ to write this I wasn't expecting it to go over 5,000 words before the CoLu stuff, but this is what came out.

Because this is being split into 2 parts it is going to take me longer than the standard week to get through all of the prompts. I'm also going to try to keep the prompts in the same **AU** ; building the CoLu from the ground up: Friendship – Marriage. And yes kiddies, that means that there may be **SMUT**. But fear not, I will delineate where the **SMUT** begins and ends so you can skip over it if you want; and there will be _**WARNINGS**_ at the beginning of the chapter as well.

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So, thanks for reading. Reviews welcomed, and appreciated. And now on to **BLOSSOMS PART 2**.


	3. Chapter 3: BLOSSOMS PART 2

So, here is **BLOSSOMS PART 2**. Enjoy, and be sure to leave a review at the end.

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

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 **Blossoms Part 2**

 **At Fairy Tail**

After leaving Fairy Tail's Public Bath Cobra made his way up to the main hall and bar. Taking a seat at the bar Cobra spotted the purple-haired barmaid, Kinana, and flagged her down to place an order. "Good morning Cobra." Kinana says with a cheerful smile once she reached him. "What can I get ya?" she asks the Poison Dragon Slayer. Cobra, taking in the cheery appearance of the busty purple-haired barmaid who was once his snake, Cubellious, thinks for a minute before asking, "What poisons you got laying around?". "I'd have to check. But is there anything food-wise that I can get you?" Kinana responds. "Yeah. I'll have a stack of Pancakes, a plate of crispy bacon, a plate of Scrambled eggs, toast- lightly browned and buttered, Orange juice- Large, and Coffee- Black with 10 sugars." Cobra orders. Smiling at her onetime friend Kinana says, "Okay. So, that'll be 1 Dragon Slayer Breakfast with a side of whatever poisons I can find, right?". "Yup." Cobra answers. As Kinana turns to head into the kitchen to get Cobra's order he reaches across the bar and grabs her wrist, and speaks in lowered tone of voice: "You're looking well Cubellious. And thanks for the rush job on the laundry.". Blushing, Kinana whispers back, "Thanks, Erik. And it was no problem. I didn't think that you guys would want to walk around here in nothing but your boxers. Besides, having Gray walk around here practically naked is bad enough. We don't need five more guys doing it too.". Cobra shakes his head to rid himself of the mental image of the Ice-make Mage in his boxers, and hears the tittering giggle of Kinana as she heads into the kitchen to get his food. Just as the double doors to the kitchen swing closed behind Kinana Cobra is joined at the bar by his fellow guild mate, Racer.

"Dang Cobra. Trying to pick up Fairies now? Though I can't blame ya. She is cute. And she looks like she's got a nice rack." Racer says. Cobra, slightly turning to face his friend, gave a menacing growl and says: "Stay the fuck away from her Racer, or I'll poison you to death and disembowel you.". Putting his hands up in a show of surrender Racer says, "Okay man. I'll stay away. Jeesh. I forgot how surly you are before you've had your first cup of coffee. But she does seem to like you, so maybe you should try to get with her yourself before some other schmuck does.". The only response that Racer got was a snort from the Poison Dragon Slayer. Cobra turns his attention back to the doors to the kitchens as he can smell Kinana coming back with his order.

"Here ya go Cobra. One Dragon Slayer Breakfast. I found some Ammonia Glass Cleaner that I mixed into your coffee, and sprinkled some Arsenic on the eggs for you." Kinana said cheerfully as she set the plates of food before the man. Raising an eye-brow to the woman before him, Cobra says, "Ammonia Glass Cleaner and Arsenic? Sounds delicious. Thanks.". With that he tucked into his feast of a meal like he hadn't eaten in years. Seeing her old friend so happy Kinana couldn't help but to chuckle before turning to Racer to get his order. "So, what can I get you Racer?" she asks. Racer, who was staring wide-eyed at his companion was oblivious to the question that the barmaid had asked him. Between mouthfuls Cobra says to the man staring at him, "Take a picture. It'll last longer. Also, she asked what you want to eat, dumbass.". Kinana reached over and lightly smacked the Poison Dragon Slayer's arm saying, "Be nice Cobra.", before turning back to face Racer. "So, what can I get you?" Kinana asks the gob smacked man. "You… You… You just hit him and the room isn't filling with poison? How is that possible? Anyone who dares to hit Cobra ends up poisoned, so why aren't you?" Racer asks, still in shock. Upon hearing this Cobra swallows his mouthful of bacon and says, "Because dingle berry she's immune to poisons, just like me. Ain't that right _Doll-face_?". Blushing at the nickname that she has been given Kinana reaches over to slap Cobra again and says, "What did I just say about being nice? And yes. I am immune to poisons.". Just then the other male members of Crime Sorciere approached the bar after finishing their baths and getting dressed in freshly laundered clothes, and Midnight says: "" Nice" is not in Cobra's vocabulary.".

Mira, who was just coming back from the storeroom with a case of Whiskey for the bar, noticed all the members of Crime Sorciere, well the male members anyways, sitting at the bar. Placing the case on the back bar turns to face the men and asks, "How was your bath? The water warm enough for you?". Jellal answers for the group, "The bath was enjoyable, Mirajane. And the water was plenty warm too. Thank you for asking.". Turning his attention to address Kinana Jellal says, "I understand that we have you to thank for the freshly laundered clothes? So, thank you Kinana.". Blushing, Kinana waves him off saying, "It was no trouble. I didn't think that you guys would want to walk around here in nothing but your boxers. Besides, having Gray walk around here practically naked is bad enough. We don't need five more guys doing it too.". Annoyed, Cobra says: "Oi! Stop talking about the Ice-dick's stripping habit. I'm trying to eat this delicious food over here. You trying to make me puke or something?". "Cobra is correct. Let's not continue talking about Gray's unusual habit, and eat." Jellal says before taking a seat at the bar on Cobra's right. Midnight taking the open seat on Racer's left, with Hot-eye taking the one on his left.

Just as Jellal was settling in to his chosen seat Mira yelled out, "Jellal! You can't sit there! That is Lucy's spot!". This caused all the men of Crime Sorciere to become confused. "What do you mean Mirajane?" Jellal asked. "She means, Jellal, that that spot is permanently reserved for Lucy. She personally bought that stool, and commissioned Gajeel to use his iron to reinforce it. Anyone who dares to sit there ends up getting kicked clear across the guild, as does anyone who tampers with it." Erza answered walking up behind the group at the bar. "And you and I have things to discuss anyways Jellal." Erza said as she grabbed Jellal by the back of his collar dragging him off the stool and to the far side of the guild. After hearing that the stool on his right is Permanently Reserved for Lucy Cobra thought, ' _No wonder this area smells so good. It smells just like Blondie does; like Vanilla, Lavender, and Jasmine with a hint of Oleander._ '.

It was then that the subject of Cobra's recent thoughts kicked in the huge double oak doors of the guild and roared, " **WHO THE FUCK DARED TO SIT IN MY SEAT!?** ". After placing a plate in front of Hot-eye Mira rushed to intercept, and assuage the now irate blonde Celestial mage. "Lucy, please calm down. Remember that we have guests." Mira pleaded. "I know that Mira. I invited them. But that still doesn't answer the question of "Who the fuck dared to sit in **MY** seat?"." Lucy seethed. Seeing Mira struggling to calm her blonde friend, who she views as a sister, Erza made her way over to assist is calming Lucy's rage. "Lucy. Please calm yourself. Jellal didn't know that that is you spot. Mira and I both intercepted him before he could fully sit down, and I dragged him to the other side of the guild so that we could talk more privately." Erza explained. Blinking, Lucy says while pointing to her stool: "Oh. Of course, Jellal wouldn't know that that is my seat. Sorry.". Everyone present sweat dropped at the 180° turn in Lucy's attitude and behavior.

Mira, taking in Lucy's appearance, as well as the appearance of the two women who were standing behind the buxom blonde, cheerfully says; "My, don't you three look lovely today.". All three women blushed at the compliment from the stunningly gorgeous former " _Sorcerer's Weekly_ " pin-up model. Cancer had really worked his magic on all three women by styling their hair to best complimenting their outfits, and enhancing their natural beauty. Lucy, Angel, and Meredy all sheepishly smiled and said; "Thank you." Unbeknownst to the small group of women standing in the open doors of the guild, every man present in the guild was staring at them as the brightly shining sun behind them gave them an Ethereal glow; especially Lucy. ' _Fuck me!_ ' Cobra thought as he gaped at the blonde and his two female guild mates. ' _Blondie looks like an actual fucking angel. So pure, and radiant._ ' Cobra's thoughts continued.

As the group of women moved away from the doors, with Erza moving to rejoin Jellal, and Lucy, Angel, and Meredy moving towards a table near the bar Mira asked the three newcomers; "Have you already eaten, or can I get you all something?". But Cobra's eye never left Lucy as he tracked her progress from the doors to the table where she now sat with Angel and Meredy. Having taken the three girls orders Mira headed back into the kitchen, and the guild settled into a comfortable silence. But that silence didn't last long as not even five minutes later the doors once again were kicked in; and standing in the now open doors letting out a ferocious yell was Natsu Dragneel; "Oi, Bleach brain! What are you doing here?". Knowing exactly who Natsu was speaking to, Cobra turned to face the young Fire Dragon Slayer and said; "What the fuck does it look like you fucking pyro? I was enjoying a nice quiet breakfast until you busted in here like the moronic flame-tard that you are.". Stepping up and getting in the Poison Dragon Slayer's face Natsu says. "You wanna go, Acid Breath?". But before Cobra could respond Natsu was sent flying back towards the just opening doors of the guild. "NATSU DRAGNEEL! THERE WILL BE NO FIGHTING TODAY! CRIME SORCIERE ARE OUR GUESTS! AM I UNDERSTOOD?" Lucy roared at the flying pink-haired man she calls her best friend. As he continued on his flight across Magnolia Natsu could be heard shouting, "AYE SIR!". "Lucy is scary." A cowering Happy whispered so as to not incur the blonde's wrath himself. "Oi, Bunny-girl! Shrimp nearly got a face full of Salamander! Watch it next time." Fairy Tail's Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox, shouted, as it was he and his bluenette girlfriend, Fairy Tail's resident bookworm and Solid Script mage, Levy McGarden, who had been entering the guild when Lucy sent Natsu flying. "Yeah, yeah. Sorry Levy. It's just too early for Natsu's antics. Come join us." Lucy said, dismissing Gajeel and waving her fellow book enthusiast over to her table where Mira was placing everyone's orders down; Meredy and Angel gaping at the amount of food on their respective plates, and salivating at the delicious aroma wafting off the food they had ordered.

Throughout all of this, Cobra gaped at Lucy in pure shock and awe; but he was not alone in this as the other members of Crime Sorciere were also stunned by what the blonde had done to the Fire Dragon Slayer. It was then that Cobra heard Kinana whisper, "Close your mouth Erik. You're starting to attract flies. And you're drooling a bit.". Cobra immediately closed his mouth, wiping it on his sleeve before turning to his old friend, and former partner, only to come face to face with the purplette. He then whispers to her, "Got jokes now, huh? I think you've been spending too much time around these Fairies Cu.". Kinana lightly chuckled at Cobra and started clearing away the empty plates in front of him and thought, knowing full well that he would hear her, ' _I saw the way you were staring at Lucy, Erik. I don't blame you for staring; she is beautiful. But that doesn't mean you have to drool. It's very unattractive, and unmanly. She's single, just so you know._ ". Before turning to take the empty dishes to the kitchen she asked him, "Anything else that I can get you?". "Nah. I'm good. The food was delicious by the way. What'll it take to convince you to come be our cook once we establish a guild hall?" Cobra says. Shaking her head Kinana says, "Fairy Tail is my home, and everyone in the guild is my family. I don't think I can just walk away.", and disappears into the kitchen.

Cobra was deep in thought about Lucy and the conversation that he and Kinana had had when they were interrupted. ' _Cobra. Gather the others and come over here. We need to discuss our future plans._ ' Jellal thought knowing that Cobra would hear him. ' _Fucking blueberry. So damned bossy and shit._ ' Cobra thought before turning to his fellow guild mates sitting beside him and saying, "Blueberry wants all of us to come over to his table. He wants to talk about becoming a Registered Guild and establishing a guildhall.". The three men all nodded and stood up to make their way over to their guild master. Cobra rose as well to head over to where Jellal was seated in the far corner of Fairy Tail's guild hall stopping along the way to get Angel and Meredy. "Hey, blueberry wants to talk to us. Come on." He said to the girls before moving on. "Oh poo. I was having fun. But whatever Jellal wants to talk about must be important." Meredy pouted getting up from her seat. Putting on a cheery smile and looking down at the two non-members of Crime Sorciere and saying, "We'll just have to continue our girl talk later. Bye.". "See ya Mer. Later Angel." Lucy and Levy said as Meredy and Angel left the table to go join the rest of their guild mates.

Lucy watched as Cobra walked away from the table she was sitting at cursing in her head, ' _Dammit! If it weren't for that coat of his I could get a good look at his ass. I bet it's nice too._ '. "Wonder what's so important?" Levy asked, interrupting Lucy's ogling of the Poison Dragon Slayer as he walked over to where the rest of his guild was now sitting with their master. "Huh? Oh, they're probably going to talk about the Council's offer for them to become a Legally Registered Guild, and where they should establish a guildhall. Master offered to let them use the hall on the outskirts that the guild used when we were all trapped on Tenroujima. I even offered to let them use the Heartfilia Konzern since they would have more space and wouldn't have to worry about finding places to live." Lucy absentmindedly said. "But Lushy, that's your family's home." Happy said as he sat down on the table munching on a fish he had pulled out of the knapsack on his back. Shrugging, Lucy replies; "So. I'm not using it for anything, and have no plans to use it in the future. Yeah there are things there that I want but don't have room for, like all the books in the libraries. So, really it's just sitting there collecting dust. Hey Happy, remember how dusty it was when we went there looking for " _ **Key of the Starry Heavens**_ "? "Oh yeah. It was super dusty and cob-webby in there." The blue Exceed answered. "Lu, did you just say " _Libraries_ "? As in more than one?" Levy asked with stars in her eyes. Chuckling and rubbing the back of her neck Lucy answered her blue-haired book loving friend, "Uh, yeah Levy I did.". Looking pointedly at her blonde friend the bluenette asks, "Why have you never mentioned these libraries to me before, Lu? I thought we were friends?", before turning away and huffing indignantly. In an act of placating her bestie Lucy says, "I'm so sorry Levy. I would have told you about them, but it just never came up before. I'll make you a promise. I'll personally take you there, even if Crime Sorciere decides to accept my offer of using it as their guildhall, and let you peruse the libraries to your heart's content. But there is a condition though.". Her interests now piqued Levy slightly looks over her shoulder at the blonde, and says; "I'm listening.". "You can peruse the libraries to your heart's content, but all the books have to stay in the libraries. But you're free to make copies of any books you want to peruse at your leisure. That is the condition. Do we have a deal?" Lucy asks, seriously hoping that her friend will accept and be placated. Levy turned to look Lucy in the eye, and sticking her hand out to her blonde friend squeals, "DEAL!". Lucy, relieved at this turn of events, accepts the proffered hand, smiles and says, "Deal.", giving the bluenette's hand a firm shake before releasing it. Levy, pleased with the deal she just made with her Celestial Wizard friend jumps up out of her chair and says, "Let me grab Gajeel and then we can get going to your family's home Lu.". Lucy indignantly squawks at her friend, "What!? But Levs, what about the Hanami Festival? I was really looking forward to attending it this year. I missed the one right after I joined, and then Tenroujima happened, and then Tartaros and the guild disbanded, and then there was the war with Alvarez and Acnologia. Please Levy? Don't make me miss another one?". At the end Lucy was on her knees, practically in tears, before her blue-haired book loving friend begging. Seeing her best friend on her knees, begging, and practically crying, Levy sighed and said with a smile; "Okay Lu. We can go another day. Besides, this will be mine and Gaj's first Hanami Festival as a couple.". Lucy clapped her hands and jumped up off the floor and began hugging her friend, squealing her thanks while jumping around; the hem of her skirt rising just enough to give anyone who was looking a peek at her lacy maroon thong panty clad heart-shaped ass.

The spectacle the two girls were making had drawn the attention of the four Dragon Slayers who were currently in Fairy Tail's guildhall. One Dragon Slayer in particular was thinking, ' _Damn. I wish she'd jump and hug on me like that. What I'd give to give that scrumptious ass of her's a nice squeeze? And having those ginormous tits of her's rubbing from my chest to my face? Dammit. I'm getting hard just thinking about it. I'll just have to deal with it until later, because there is no way in fucking hell I'm gonna go jerk-off in this place. Is she wearing a lacy maroon thong? I wonder if she's wearing the matching bra? Wouldn't mind finding out for myself. But it would probably be better if we became friends first before asking her to see her bra and panties. Maybe this Festival would be a good way of going about that._ '.

In another part of the guild another Dragon Slayer, heard the conversation between Lucy and Levy was also watching the spectacle the two were making and thinking, ' _Great. Bunny-girl just had to go and promise Shrimp access to the libraries at the Heartfilia Konzern. We're going to be spending weeks, if not months there knowing my Shrimp's love for books. Oh, well. I knew going into this that I'd be spending a lot of time in libraries. At least Bunny was able to convince Shrimp to wait and go another day, because I got something special planned for me and Shrimp during this festival. Acid breath over there better not be looking at MY Shrimp, or I'll be forced to put an_ _ **Iron Spike**_ _through his head. Wait. His eye is following Bunny-girl. Gihi. Bunny's a nice chick. Strong as fuck too. But if they do get together he better not hurt her or he's in for a world of pain after Titania smacks him around with that gigantic hammer of her's, because then it's the Demon's turn to abuse him, then the rest of Team "Destroy Everything In Sight", and then the rest of the guild. Squirt would probably do more damage to him than Titania or the Demon, and that's on top of healing him enough to keep him from dying. The Squirt's gotten a lot stronger from back when she first joined this guild._ '.

Cobra of course had heard the thoughts of the normally stoic and surly Iron Dragon Slayer. Reluctantly, Cobra tore his gaze off the bouncing blonde beauty and pointed his glare towards the shadowy corner where the Iron Dragon Slayer sat. When their gazes connected Gajeel thought, ' _Fuck! I forgot that he can hear whatever someone is thinking. Oh well. At least now he is forewarned about what will happen should he ever hurt Bunny-girl._ '. At hearing Gajeel refer to Lucy as _"Bunny-girl_ " Cobra raised an eye-brow, to which Gajeel subtly pointed back to the blonde who was still hugging and hopping with her best friend. Looking where directed, Cobra noticed the bouncing blonde and her blue-haired friend, and that was when realization sunk-in; ' _So, that's why Lugnut calls her "_ Bunny-girl". _Hmm. It does seem to suit her. Though I do wish she would hop on me. But I really need to come up with something better than "_ Blondie _" to call her. Oh well. It'll come to me when the time is right._ '.

" _ **Alright you Brats!**_ **"** Fairy Tail's Guild Master, and Wizard Saint, Makarov Dreyar, shouted from the railing overlooking the main floor of the guild on the second floor causing all activity in the guild to come to a stand-still. "It's time to head to **South Gate Park** for our annual picnic, and the start of Magnolia's Hanami Festival." The short bald man said. "Our guests from Crime Sorciere are more than welcome to join us, and I hope that they, and everyone else, has a good time." the Master added before jumping down to the bar from his perch on the railing of the second floor. "Hold it everyone!" Mira shouted stopping the mass exodus from the guild that was beginning. "I need some help to get everything for the picnic to the park. Any volunteers?" she asked with her usual sweet smile. A shout of, " _ **HELPING IS MANLY**_ **!** " was heard, and everyone sweat dropped because they all knew who it was that said this; it was none other than Fairy Tail's Beast Soul Take-over Mage, Self-proclaimed aficionado on all things "MANLY", and younger brother to Mirajane Strauss- Elfman Strauss. Mira giggled at her brother and said, "That's one. Any others?". Rolling his eyes, the Lightning Dragon Slayer, Laxus Dreyar, stood up from the table he and his team sat at and started walking over to the beautiful Satan Soul Take-over mage saying; "Fine Demon. I'll help, only because I don't want _Elf-boy_ being the only help you have. Get your ass up Bix because you're helping too.". Said man, Fairy Tail's resident Seith Mage: Bickslow, stood up, grumbling to himself, while his menagerie of Souls in little Tiki totems chirped, "Help. Help.", flying over to the head barmaid. Mirajane reached a hand up to pat each of the totems as they zipped around her head and said with a giggle, "Thank you " _Babies_ ". You'll be such great little helpers.".

As she was leaving the guild, Lucy was joined by Angel and Meredy. "Do we have time before the picnic and festival starts to go back to your place to check on our laundry?" Angel inquired of the blonde. "Yup. I was going there to pick up something I was bringing to the picnic anyways." Lucy cheerfully answered. Accepting Lucy's answer Angel called over her shoulder to her male guild mates, "We'll meet up with you guys at the park in a little while.", and with that she looped arms with Lucy while Meredy did the same on the blonde's other side and made for Lucy's apartment. Their abrupt departure was watched by the remaining members of Crime Sorciere with curiosity, especially from the Poison Dragon Slayer who had briefly heard his pink haired guild mate's parting thoughts; ' _Cobra was totally checking her out when she was bouncing around hugging Levy, so I know that he likes her. The question is, "Does she like him too?". It would be so perfect if she does. They would be so cute together. And the babies. GODS, the babies would be so cute. I just gotta give them a little nudge in the right direction to get them together. Oh, and Lu will be happy to know that we are gonna accept her offer of using her family's estate as our Guildhall._ '. Cobra couldn't help the shiver that ran down his spine as he thought, ' _Damn. Pink is gonna try and rush things between me and_ Blondie _._ '.

Cobra was so caught up watching the blonde beauty and his two female guild mates walk away, and his own thoughts, that he didn't realize that the Iron Dragon Slayer had walked up behind him until he felt the rough heavy hand on his shoulder. "We need to have a little talk; Dragon Slayer to Dragon Slayer." Gajeel gruffly whispered in the Poison Dragon Slayer's ear. Cobra turned his head to look at the rough and tumbled man with his lone eye and asked, "What about, Metalface?". "You know damn well what about Bleach-for-brains. Now come with me." Gajeel growled in a low tone as he started to walk away. "Whatever. It's not like I really know the way to the park where this shit is happening anyways." Cobra responded as he fell in step with the Iron-pierced man walking away from the Fairy Tail Guildhall.

 **At Lucy's Apartment**

While Angel checked on her's and Meredy's laundry, Meredy was sitting on the counter in Lucy's quaint little kitchenette while Lucy gathered the dishes she planned to bring to Fairy Tail's picnic. "So, Lu. You are aware that Cobra was checking you out when you were bouncing around while hugging Levy, right? He, and everyone else, got a good look at your perfect little butt too." Meredy said, poking the blonde's heart shaped heinie with her foot, causing Lucy to blush and pause in her packing. Angel walked up behind Lucy and wrapped her arms around the woman cupping her generous bust and said, "Yeah. He was mesmerized by the way these were bouncing around too. I bet he was envisioning how they would bounce and jiggle around as he fucked you into a sweet oblivion.", giving Lucy's breast a gentle squeeze before releasing her grasp on them. This caused a soft moan to rumble in Lucy's throat as her blush deepened. "You… You guys! Stop it. You're embarrassing me." Lucy whined, taking deep calming breaths. "You like him, don't ya Lu? 'Cause I'm pretty certain that he really likes you, especially if the way he was staring at is any indication." Meredy said. "He was practically drooling at the sight of you when you kicked Natsu out of the guild for trying to start a fight. I wonder how far that pink-haired menace flew though?" Angel says. With her blush lighter than it was a few minutes ago Lucy chuckled and said, "I asked Natsu where he landed after one of the last time I kicked him outta the guild when he was bugging me; he said that he ended up in the big Magnolia tree in the center of **South Gate Park** which is clear across town from the guild. Since he didn't come back to the guild I'm assuming that he stayed there waiting for everyone to start showing up.". Angel and Meredy could only stare at the blonde with their mouths hanging open. Angel was the first to recover from her shock at the revelation that her blonde friend had kicked her teammate clear across town from the guild and said, "You've gotta be shitting me! He kicked Cobra and Brain's asses, and just because he was bugging you you kicked his ass clear across town?". "Wow. Cobra better pray that he never gets on Lu's bad side." Meredy whispered aloud before saying louder, "You still haven't answered the question Lu? Do. You. Like. Cobra?". Blushing and staring at the floor Lucy quietly answered, "I… I don't know. I might, but we haven't ever really talked or nothing; aside from trading snarky insults with each other, and that time Oracion Seis nearly sacrificed me to the **Infinity Clock**.". The mentioning of the **Infinity Clock** caused angel to frown and stare at the floor before quietly saying to Lucy, "I'm sorry about that. The trying to sacrifice you to the **Infinity Clock** thing.". Lucy looked over to the glum silver-haired beauty and said, "While I don't really understand your motives for that I don't hold any grudges against any of you. As far as I'm concerned, I forgave all of you a long time ago for that stuff.", moving over to the down-trodden woman and wrapping her in a comforting hug. "There's a lot about my past that I'm sorry for, but meeting you Lucy is not one of them. I mean look at us now, all friend-like and shit. So, thank you for befriending me, even after all the terrible things that I did; and not just to you." Angel says hugging her blonde friend back and sniffling into her shoulder. "Of course, Angel. I'm happy that we can call each other friend after everything that's happened between us." Lucy quietly says still hugging the silverette and rubbing soothing patterns on her back. The sound of someone sniffling caused both women to slightly break from their comforting embrace and look to the only other person in the room; Meredy who had been quietly watching and listening to the others touching moment. Letting go of each other, Lucy and Angel reached out to Meredy bringing her into their hug, and Lucy says: "And you're my friend too Mer.". Angel rested her head on the pinkette's shoulder and says, "And you're my best friend Merri.", while rubbing soothing circular patterns on the girls back. "I love you guys." Meredy says.

 **Near Kardia Cathedral**

"Alright you metal-munching asshole, what the fuck is so important?" Cobra impatiently asks. "What the fuck is so important is you and _Bunny-girl_ , Bleach-breath." Gajeel says; his patience waning thin with his fellow Dragon Slayer. "Just fucking spill it already, Rust-bucket.". " _Bunny_ is your mate.". This caught the Poison Dragon Slayer completely off-guard. He'd heard that Dragon Slayers have mates like dragons, but he thought that only applied to Slayers raised and trained by Dragons and not him since he gets his Dragon Slaying abilities from a Dragon Lacrima that Brain had shoved into his body after getting him and the others out of that GODS-forsaken tower. "What the fuck…" was all Cobra got out before Gajeel cut him off. "You're no different than me, Salamander, and the others. Just like us you and Sparky have mates too. Sparky's mate is the Demon-woman, and I've got a feeling _Bunny_ 's yours.". Cobra didn't what to think, or feel, about this. "How can you tell?" Cobra asked his fellow, and more informed, Slayer. "Gihi! For starters, the way you couldn't tear your eye off her. Then there's her scent; it has a calming effect on ya. Then there's how you are drawn to her. But on the other-side of that she is drawn to you, and your scent calms her ass down too. Look at what she did to Salamander 'cause he was itching to fight with you. That flame-brained idiot could smell that you and _Bunny-girl_ are mates and he wanted to challenge you to see if you're worthy of her; he's marked her as family. Hell, I've marked _Bunny_ as family, but I ain't gonna fight ya to determine if you're worthy of holding her heart; I'm just gonna watch ya closely as you " _Court_ " her.". "" _Court her_ "? What the fuck are you talking about you fucking scarp-heap?!". " _Dating_ , you acid-guzzling twit. It took a long time for me to even feel worthy of being with Shrimp before we mated after the shit I did to her and her team.". Cobra was shocked when heard in Gajeel's soul what he had done to his little blue-haired mate, and he had to admit that even he has never been that depraved; and that's saying something considering he once tried to end the world by attempting to sacrifice his supposed mate to a giant fucking skeletal fish clock thing. But upon further thinking Cobra realized that this " _Courting_ " would be good for him and the blonde that has recently taken-up residency in his thoughts as it would allow them to grow closer to one another. "Alright. I'll do this " _Courting_ " thing. It's better that way since her and I don't exactly know shit about each other that well." Cobra said. "Good to hear. Gihi!" Gajeel replied. "This festival shit would be a good way about getting the ball rolling. And don't worry about Salamander; Squirt, Sparky, and me will keep him away from ya, plus he'll probably be too busy with his own mate to pay your ass much mind- not that he has much mind to spare. Gihi.". "I ain't one to normally ask for help, but this _mate_ shit is way outta my depth so don't be surprised if I come to ya for more advice and shit." Cobra said, with his head hanging down and his hair shielding his eye. "Yeah, yeah. Don't sweat it. Even those Saber idiots come to me for advice about this shit. And don't worry; I won't go blabbing about ya asking for help. Now let's get to the park." The Iron Dragon Slayer said, slinging one of his heavily pierced arms of the shorter Poison Dragon Slayer's shoulder.

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Alright. So, this went longer than I anticipated so there's going to be a PART 3. Without the AN's this part was over 5,000 words. I seriously don't know what happened; it just took on a life of its own. Anyways, thanks for reading. Leave a review on this part and let me know what you think, and go read PART 3.


	4. Chapter 4: BLOSSOMS PART 3

So, this took a lot longer than I thought to finish. Anyways, here's Part 3.

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS.**

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 **Blossoms Part 3**

 **Magnolia's South Gate Park**

Everyone in the town had congregated in the beautiful park, including the town's notable Mage's Guild: Fairy Tail. Cobra and Gajeel had arrived just in time to be recruited by the _She-devil_ to help finish with the setup of Fairy Tail's area, and the portable stage that would be used for the entertainment as well as for the Mayor of Magnolia to announce the official start of the town's Hanami Festival.

Lucy, Angel, and Meredy had arrived at the park about thirty minutes of Cobra and Gajeel, and the first thing to catch the buxom blonde's eyes was the sight of the Poison Dragon Slayer once again shirtless as he helped to erect the stage. ' _Damn! He looks so sexy. And will you look at those…_ ' she thought but was interrupted by Mira. "Oh, good. Lucy you're here. I was hoping that you and your spirits would do a performance a little later." Mira said. "Bu-bu-but Mira? This is technically my first Hanami Festival, and I was realllly looking forward to enjoying it." Lucy whined as her lower lip stuck out in a pout. Meredy stepped up to Mira, putting an arm around the busty former model's shoulders and conspiratorially whispered in her ear, "Yeah Mira. Lu really wants to enjoy the festival, especially with a certain one eyed maroon haired mage.". Mira's whole demeanor changed upon hearing of a potential ship; her smile grew larger, and her eyes began sparkling. "Okay, Lucy. You're free to go enjoy the festival. I'll find someone else to fill the spot I was going to have you perform in." Mira said, wrapping her arm around the pink haired Maguilty Mage's slender waist and turned away. As Mira and Meredy began walking away Lucy could hear Mira say; "Tell me more about this certain someone that Lucy has her eyes set on, and how can I help get them together?". ' _Whelp, I'm screwed. Now Mira knows that I might like Cobra. And on top of that it's taking a lot out of me to hold Loke back. I should probably just let him through so that he can also enjoy the festival. I'm sure some of his "_ ladies" _would like to spend time with the perverted playboy lion._ ' Lucy thought.

"Hey Lucy, I'm gonna go find the others. I'll catch ya later." Angel said in parting as she made her way further into the lush park to find her fellow guild mates. "Oh. Okay. Later then." Lucy said. "Okay you damned pesky lion. You can come out now." Lucy said, and in a flash of blinding golden light her faithful spirit, Leo the Lion- aka Loke, appeared. Bowing and snatching Lucy's hand to kiss it, Loke say: "Princess. Why have you been preventing me from opening my gate? Are you mad at me, or something? Or are you afraid that I'll go after that poison spewing bastard that tried to kill you?". "The latter." Lucy replied to her most loyal spirit. "Princess! How you wound me? I may have grievance with the man for what he did to you, but that was in the past and you've taught me that we over look past misdeeds. 'Forgive and forget.', right?" Loke said in mock hurt at his key holder's words and with a cock of his brow. "Lo-Loke! Now you're making me feel bad for not trusting you." Lucy stuttered. "But now that you're here why don't you tell me why you've been so persistent in opening your gate all day? Hmm?" Lucy glared up at her faithful orange-haired friend. Glaring back at his master Loke said, "Lucy I know what you're hinting at, and I can assure you with the utmost certainty that I was NOT trying to see you and those other two practically naked. Aries and Aquarius have already threatened to skin me if I ever tried to pop in on you while you're dressing or in the bath. The reason I've been so insistent all day is for two reasons; 1) I wanted to ask your permission to spend the day here for the festival, and 2) a message for you from a certain very angry, and scary, mermaid." and with that Loke pulled an envelope from his inner jacket pocket before handing it to Lucy. Lucy was taken aback by Loke's words. "You don't need my permission to come enjoy the festival with _OUR_ guild mates and friends, Loke. But if you're really here for a date with one of your floozies, then turn right back around and go home Loke because I don't think Aries will be too happy with you consorting with other women. And thank you for delivering Aquarius' message." Lucy said. In another flash of golden light Loke changed from his usual suit and tie into some jeans and T-shirt before taking off to find his friend, Gray Fullbuster, calling back to Lucy as he went; "Thanks Lucy. I'll see ya later, 'kay? And don't forget; if you find yourself in danger to call for me, and I'll come instantly to your defense, Princess.".

After Loke's departure Lucy exited the park and walked into the nearest alleyway for some privacy to ready Aquarius' message, in accordance with Celestial Law. Upon entering the alley, Lucy, using her new-found ability, wrote a quick **Rune** **Barrier** that would alert her to anyone entering the alleyway. Anxiously, Lucy tor open the envelope wanting to know what her dearest, and oldest friend had to say. The two have been separated since Lucy was commanded by the mermaid spirit to sacrifice her key in order to summon the Celestial Spirit King to take down Tartaros and save Fairy Tail. It was the hardest thing Lucy had ever had to do in her life, and also one of the saddest because she had inherited Aquarius' key from her late mother. Even though the water-bearing spirit was always trying to drown her, Lucy loved the spirit; she loved her like a second mother, because it had been Aquarius who explained things to Lucy when she hit puberty.

" _Hey brat. As I told you before, my key will be reborn in your world, well it's back. As much as I hate you, because you're such a cry-baby, I don't want anyone else wielding my key, also because I swore to your dear mother that I would look out for you. So, I'm gonna give you hint as to where you can find my key, brat: "Go back to where it all began for us". I'm sure by now your sniveling; well, STOP IT YOU DAMNED BRAT OR I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SNIVEL ABOUT! Now go find my key. Oh, and once you touch my key our previous contract will be reinstated, so there's no real need to summon me. BUT YOU BETTER YOU DAMNED BRAT! I'm waiting._

 _Aquarius"_

Lucy couldn't believe her eyes. She was going to be reunited with her oldest and dearest friend; Aquarius. Looking up to the sky Lucy whispered, "I can't help it Aquarius. I'm just so happy that we'll be together again. And I know you don't really " _hate_ " me. I'll definitely be going back to where it all began for us, but tomorrow because today I'm gonna enjoy myself with my friends, and maybe end up with a boyfriend so you can stop harping on me to get one. I'll see you soon Aquarius. I promise.".

Tucking the letter back in the envelop, and stuffing it in her pocket, Lucy quickly dispelled the **Rune Barrier** she had erected and reentered the park looking for a certain maroon haired mage. ' _Now, where is he?_ ' Lucy thought as she scanned the park for the snarky Poison Slayer. It didn't take her long to find him as he had been searching for her. Coming up behind her Cobra leaned in to whisper in her ear, his warm breath fanning over it; "Looking for something, _Beautiful_.". "Y- yes. I was looking for you in fact. I was hoping….". Cobra cut her off by saying, "I already know what you were hoping _Bright-eyes_. And I'll join ya.". "Y- you will?" asked, in disbelief that things might actually go the way she wanted for a change. "Yeah. Now come on, let's go find a spot away from prying eyes, and ears, where we can be comfortable." Cobra suggested, gently grabbing Lucy's arm and leading her towards a shady quiet corner of the park.

Reaching their destination, a bright flash of light and a puff of pink smoke appeared before the couple, and when it cleared the Zodiac Spirit, Virgo, stood there bowing deeply, giving those behind her a glimpse of her black ruffled panties and those in front a generous view of her cleavage that is on par with her key holder's. "Princess. Here is your picnic basket and a blanket. Punishment time, Princess?" the spirit stated with a hopeful glimmer in her eyes, and a packed wicker basket in one hand and a blanket in the other. ' _Please punish me Princess. A flick to the forehead; a good flogging for flashing my panties; anything; just please punish me._ ' The pink-haired spirit thought, causing Cobra to raise a brow in questioning disbelief at the spirit's masochistic thoughts. Lucy simply sweat dropped at her faithful maid spirit's request to be punished, and said; "No punishment Virgo. But thank you for the picnic supplies. I'll call you when were finished so you can everything back home.". "Of course, Princess. Then I'll take my leave until you call for me. Enjoy the picnic and festival." Virgo stiffly said before disappearing back into the Celestial Realm.

"That's one odd spirit you got there. But the food smells fantastic." Cobra said as he took the blanket and spread it out on the ground for him and Lucy to sit upon. "You have no idea how odd she can be. I just wish that she wouldn't ask for punishment every time she comes. I don't think I need to tell you how I feel about all the spirits that I have contracts with." Lucy said as she set the basket on the blanket before taking a seat. "Nope. But you might wanna give her a flick or a spank once in a while. It'll make her feel so much better. Plus, if her thoughts are any indication as to the effect it would have, it'd get her off." Cobra, nonchalantly, said as he began digging through the basket pulling the contents out. His eye widened when he noticed the bento boxes, some of which were marked with a skull and cross-bones indicative of being poisonous. ' _Damn. Did_ Bright-eyes _make these, or did that maid spirit of her's?_ ' Cobra thought as he took in the delicious aroma wafting off the boxes trying to discern the poisons they contained. ' _Oleander. Nightshade. Hemlock. Belladonna. And a hint of… Wolf's Bane? Are you fucking shitting me? I'd give my left nut for some Wolf's Bane. Hell, I'd give both nuts, a leg, and arm for these poisons. And they smell fresh too._ ' Cobra thought as he smelled the bento's, a bit of drool leaking from the corner of his upturned mouth. Lucy giggled behind her hand at the sight of Cobra literally drooling over the bento's she had Virgo prepare. ' _He must like what he's smelling if that bit of drool is any indication. But then again, all the Slayers drool over their favorite meals consisting of their element. But damn, Cobra looks even cuter when he's happy. I think he's even actually smiling. And are those dimples? Whelp, my vagina just became a waterfall. It should be illegal for someone as handsome as him to also have dimples._ ' Lucy thought. "So, my smile makes you wet, _Bright-eyes_? If I didn't know if it would ruin the flavor I'd ask ya to wring your soaked panties out over these bento's." Cobra said, mischievously. This made Lucy blush fiercely, the color a shade darker than that of Erza's hair, and cover her face with her hands. Seeing his perspective mate so flustered Cobra let out a barking laugh and said, "It's okay, _Beautiful_. It ain't entirely your fault that I affect you like that. But it does make me proud that I do.". Spreading her fingers to look at Cobra Lucy quietly asked, "What do you mean?". "I'll explain while we eat. Or at least I'll try to explain." Cobra said before opening one of the bento boxes that was clearly made for him. "Itadakimasu." They both said as they dug into their respective lunches.

As they ate, they talked; Cobra explaining to the best of his ability what Gajeel had told him about mates, and how Lucy was apparently his. He also assured her that he was in no hurry to get her in bed screaming in ecstasy, despite how much she would like to head back to her apartment, or the nearest dark alley, just to do that. After that they talked about anything and everything; ranging from their childhoods, to their hobbies, and their "likes" and "dislikes". Cobra even revealed his true name, but asked Lucy to only use it when they were alone, or in front of Kinana as he had also told her how Kinana used to be his snake, Cubellious. Lucy was shocked by that revelation, but promised to keep it to herself. She wasn't however surprised that Erik, as she could now call him, was once a slave in _**The Tower of Heaven**_ like Erza and Jellal. No, what shocked her about Erik once being a slave was that unlike the others he was born there; his mother was a teen that one of the cultists that ran the Towner had raped, repeatedly.

After their meal, and their somewhat pleasant conversation Virgo came to clear away the picnic, which was more like a feast. The new couple then took a tour around the Festival, checking out the various booths; playing a few games here and there while sampling some of the food that was being offered. They were careful to avoid a certain matchmaking duo; not wanting the pink and white-haired beauties pressuring them. They also did their best to avoid their other guildmates; Erik was especially fearful of running into the hammer wielding psycho, Erza " _Titania_ " Scarlet, knowing how overprotective she is of Lucy.

Overall Erik and Lucy had a most excellent time simply hanging out. When the Sakura blossoms changed from their usual pink and white to an illuminating rainbow of colors Erik couldn't help but smile wistfully at his future blonde mate's look of awe and wonder. He'd been hearing in her soul how much she was looking forward to seeing this sight, and how happy she was that she was getting to see it with him.

 **Strawberry Street near Lucy's apartment**

At the end of the night, Erik was walking the little blonde home because that seemed like the sort of shit one does when " _courting_ "; not that he really knew or cared because he was content just having her beside him. As they approached her apartment Erik pulled up short letting a small growl escape his sneering lips; something in the air had caught his attention. Wrapping an arm around the blonde's waist and pulling her tighter to his side, Erik continued towards Lucy's abode. When it finally came into view Erik noticed two figures slumped against one another on the doorstep causing him to growl again. But as the wind slightly picked up it blew the scent of whoever was on Lucy's doorstep, and Erik instantly recognized the two scents. Growling, Erik said: "What the fuck are those two doing here?". Lucy turned her head to look up at her new boyfriend curiously, "Who do you mean, Erik?". "Meredy and Angel." Erik replied. A look of realization overtook Lucy as she said, "OH. They're probably here waiting for me so that they can get their stuff.". "You want me to continue walking you to the door, or hang back out of sight?" Erik asked. "Walk me to the door. We might as well get it out in the open. But we'll leave out the part of us being mates." Lucy said as she looped her arm through Erik's and starting walking towards her apartment once again.

Upon reaching the door, and the two sleeping women, Erik growls out; "OI! Wake the fuck up!". This caused the blonde at his side to smack his arm before saying, "Be nice. Mer. Ang. Wake up.". The two women groggily woke, rubbing the sleep from their eyes. "Oh, hey Lu. Where ya been?" the pinkette asked with a yawn. "Yeah. We've been waiting for you Lucy." Angel sleepily says. "Well I'm here now. So, let's get inside where you can go back to sleep more comfortably." Lucy giggled at her two friends before turning to her boyfriend with a pleading look in her eyes; "You're welcome to stay the night too.". "Alright _Bright-eyes_. If that's what you really want, then I'll stay." Cobra gruffly replied, having heard the blonde's thoughts of wanting him to stay and cuddle with her in her comfy bed.

Lucy reached past Meredy to unlock her door, allowing them to enter. Once inside the cozy little apartment Meredy stripped down to her panties, completely oblivious of Cobra's presence, and collapsed onto the blonde's couch promptly falling back asleep with a light snore. Angel, also oblivious to Cobra being there, stripped out of her clothes and unfurled her bedroll and sleeping bag before collapsing and succumbing to sleep. Lucy just giggled at the two before going to the closet where she keeps spare blankets; taking one and throwing it over the now slumbering pinkette, and another one onto the sleeping silverette. "Goodnight girls. Sleep tight." Lucy said as she made for her bathroom, pulling out a NEW toothbrush from the under-sink cabinet and offing it to her boyfriend, and brushing her teeth. After they finished, the couple headed for Lucy's bed with the blonde stripping down until she was completely bare, tossing the clothes into the nearby hamper. "I hope that you don't mind, but you Dragon Slayers tend to have higher than normal body temperatures. And besides my panties are completely soaked to the point of being ruined." Lucy said to her boyfriend. "It's your place, and if sleeping in the nude is the most comfortable for you then I'll just have to deal, won't I?" Erik said as he divested himself of his clothes, save for him grayish black boxer briefs; a noticeable bulge running down his leg. Noticing the evidence of Erik's arousal, Lucy licked her lips stepping up to him and wrapping her arms around his neck pulling his head down towards hers and pressing her naked body flush against his and teasingly whispered against his lips; "Looks like " _Little Erik_ " is wide awake and wants to play." before kissing him. Breaking the kiss Erik quietly growled, "Fucking hell woman! You're making it hard for me to be good. And I really don't wanna rush things with you. I wanna take my time and thoroughly enjoy you. Besides, don't wanna wake those two with your moans and screams of pleasure.", jerking his head in the direction of his two sleeping female guild mates. A quiet moan of, "Oh, Bixy. That devilish tongue of yours feels so good.", breaks the silence of the small apartment causing the couple to look over at the two sleeping women. Turning back to look at her boyfriend Lucy asks, "Which one of them said that?". Erik shook his head and replied, "Angel and grate-face snuck off and got busy.". "Oh, I'm so gonna tease the hell outta them over this." Lucy whispered with a devilish smirk now gracing her lips. Moving one hand to pull back the covers on the bed and the other to the blonde's perfect heart-shaped ass Erik whispered, "Just leave them be for now. But let's get some sleep. We got a long day ahead to get to your family's place. And fucking _Tramp-stamp wants to get an early start._ ", kissing her while giving her ass a gentle squeeze. "you're right. Goodnight, Erik." Lucy whispered before giving him one last kiss and crawling into her bed. Erik followed, wrapping his arms around her petite waist and pulling her back flush against his well-defined chest. Nuzzling his nose into her golden tresses Erik whispered, "Goodnight _Bright-eyes_.", and kissed the top of her head before falling asleep.

Well, that's that for now, anyways. I plan to continue this AU throughout the week, or as the best I can anyways. I really hope that you all enjoyed this. And I'm so sorry that it was so long that it took three parts to finish. Each part to this point is over 5,000 words without the Author's Notes; This Part came in at just over 3,000 words without the AN's. I want to thank you all for taking the time to read this, and I encourage you to leave a review; this is my first time writing and publishing a fan fiction, and the feedback will help me improve.

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With that said, I'll see you all tomorrow, hopefully, for **DAY 2: POOL**.


	5. Chapter 5: Pool

**Hello everyone, and welcome to Day 2 of CoLu Week: Pool. I seriously hope that this one won't be as long as the last one. So, without further ado I present my interpretation of CoLu Week Day 2: Pool.**

 **WARNING: CoLu Fluffiness Ahoy. Watch for XXX.**

 **Disclaimer: I STILL DON'T OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS; HIRO MASHIMA DOES.**

 **Pool**

A blinding light, and the smell of smoke, woke the Poison Dragon Slayer, Erik/Cobra of Crime Sorciere, who was comfortably cuddling with his little blonde Celestial mage girlfriend, Lucy Heartfilia " _The Light of the Fairies_ " of Fairy Tail. "Nya, Virgo go away. It's too early." The blonde Celestial spoke, without so much as cracking her eyes open, to her faithful maid spirit who had appeared next to the bed before snuggling closer to the warm hard-muscled body behind and attempting to go back to sleep. "My apologies Princess. I have retrieved Mister Cobra's belongings from the guildhall. Do you wish to punish me for disturbing your slumber, Princess?" the pink-haired maid spirit replied, a hopeful glint in her eyes that her mistress would finally punish her. "It's fine. We gotta get up anyways. _Tramp-stamp_ wants to get going to your family's estate _Bright-eyes_." Cobra said as he stretched, smacking the spirit's nose with his hand. Realizing what just happened Cobra thought, ' _Shit! I just hit_ Bright-eyes' _spirit. She's gonna fucking de-nut me._ '. "Oi. _Bright-eyes_. Your gonna be pissed, but I just accidentally hit the masochist here in the nose. And from the smell in the air she just creamed her panties." Cobra said. Lucy's eyes flew open at this, and she sprang up from the bed screeching; "YOU DID WHAT!?", not even acknowledging his statement about her spirit having orgasmed from being struck. "Mister Cobra is so kind to punish me on behalf of my _Princess_. I shall take my leave now, and leave you to get ready for your day." the spirit said before disappearing in a flash of blinding light and puff of pink smoke. "VIRGO! GET BACK HERE!" Lucy screeched. Grabbing a pillow, Lucy began pummeling her boyfriend and seethed through clenched teeth; "You had no right to strike my spirit! No right at all!". Cobra snatched the pillow away from the naked blonde who was now sitting astride his hips, her core pressed firmly over his boxer brief covered arousal. "Oi, you little psycho. Calm the fuck down. I said it was an accident. I was stretching. How was I supposed to know that she was standing that close? Is this how we're gonna wake up every morning? Because aside from getting hit with a fucking pillow I wouldn't mind waking up to you sitting on me naked and grinding your crotch against mine." Cobra said with a lustful smirk, his dimples on full display to the irate blonde sitting on him.

The commotion had rousted the other two mages in the small apartment who had been blissfully sleeping not far from the blonde's bed. The two laid where they were raptly watching the interaction between their naked blonde friend and their, they could only assume equally naked, male guild mate.

"Aren't they so cute Mer? Fighting while fucking. How's it feel to get a " _Good Morning Fuck_ " Lucy?" Angel asked her pink-haired companion. The pinkette just continued staring at the couple on the bed a few feet away, and thought; ' _Daaamn! Not even a full 24 hours and they're already making babies. I'm gonna be an Auntie in 9 months. I can't wait to tell Mira. She'll be so excited. But I do hope they plan to get married before the babies come, because I really wanna be a Bride's Maid._ '.

The arguing couple, now painfully aware that they are not alone, turned to look at the other occupants of the apartment. Lucy blushed redder than Erza's hair, and fell to the side pulling the bedspread with her to cover her nudity. Cobra glared at his two guild mates, growling possessively, while throwing an arm out to shield his girlfriend's nudity from view. "Oi. Shut the fuck up. Both of you, or I'll poison you quickly and painlessly. And we weren't making no damned babies _Pinkie_. So, get that shit outta your head right the fuck now. And don't either of you get any ideas of telling that _Demon_ about any of this, or I'll be forced to tell her about what you and a certain helmet wearing, long-tongued freak were doing yesterday, Angel. " _Oh, Bixy. That devilish tongue of yours feels so good_.". Ring any bells?" Cobra said. The half-naked silverette's eyes went wide as she paled, while the pinkette turned her attention to her friend laying on the floor beside her. Before Meredy could question Angel about it Angel clamped her hand over the pink-haired Maguilty mage's mouth and spoke to her old friend, glaring daggers in his direction; "Deal! We say nothing, and you say nothing.". Lucy peeked over her boyfriend's side to look at her two newest friends and timidly asked, "So, none of what happened here leaves here?". Angel, with her hand still covering the pinkette's mouth, replied. "Yes. What happens here, stays here.". The pink-haired girl only shrugged her shoulders as if saying, "Whatever.".

Lucy, finding the arrangement acceptable, nodded before climbing out of her bed and padding to her bathroom to start getting ready for the day; her naked ass swaying seductively with every step. Once at the door she looked back over her shoulder and said, "Since there are 4 of us here it make sense that we should double up in the shower to save time and water. So, who's joining me?". It only took Cobra all of 2 seconds to scramble off the bed and reach the open bathroom door, shedding the last of his clothes as he moved, before slamming the door closed once he was inside the bathroom.

"Well, I guess that answers that question, right Mer?" Angel said. The pinkette didn't respond; she just continued to stare at the now closed bathroom door in shock and awe of what just happened. Angel, realizing that her friend was in a daze, snapped her fingers in the younger girls face to break her from her trance. "Since they're showering first we should probably see about getting some breakfast. I got a feeling they might be awhile." Angel said with a smirk. Meredy just nodded and said, "Yeah. Breakfast. Awhile.", still dazed. "Snap out if Mer. We gotta start getting ready to go, or have you forgotten that we're going to Lucy's childhood home today to establish it as our guild's headquarters?" Angel snapped. Meredy shook off the last of her daze and bounced up off the couch on which she had been laying, her firm young full breasts jiggling a little from the rapid movement. "You're right Sora. Let's see what Lu has in her kitchen that we can use to make breakfast with. I got a feeling they're gonna need a big breakfast when they get outta the shower." The pinkette said, calling Angel by a shortened form of her true name: Sorano Aguria; older sister to Sabertooth's Celestial mage, Yukino Aguria. Sorano could only shake her head at the younger girl's antics as she watched her sashay into their busty blonde friend's kitchenette.

 **XXX AHEAD**

Meanwhile in the bathroom, contrary to what the two women on the other side of the door thought, the only thing happening was bodies, hair, and teeth being scrubbed clean. Currently the maroon-haired man was lathering the petite blonde woman's long golden tresses, and said woman thoroughly enjoying the feeling of her boyfriend exfoliating and massaging her scalp. ' _Damn this feel so good. If I even knew what sex felt like I'd say that this probably feels better._ ' The blonde thought as she was moved to stand beneath the shower-head to rinse the Green Tea shampoo from her long silky golden hair while her muscular maroon-haired boyfriend continued to gently massage away at her scalp. Ensuring that all of the shampoo had been rinsed from his beautiful girlfriend's hair the maroon-headed man moved her away from the spray and grabbed the bottle of conditioner and placing a generous dollop in his hand he began working the product into her hair, continuing his massaging treatment of her scalp. After a few more minutes of gently massaging the blonde's scalp the maroon-haired man moved her under the spray from the shower-head and began rinsing the conditioner while still gently massaging her scalp. "Hmm. Erik. This feels incredible." the blonde woman moaned. Erik chuckled at his girlfriend moaning from a simple scalp massage before pulling her out from under the shower-head and spinning her to properly face. Once she was Erik ducked his head down, ghosting his lips over the shell of her ear and huskily said; "I can make you feel even better _Bright-eyes_ , but now is not the right time or place for that. For now though, since we are both thoroughly clean, we should get out and see what those two are doing out there. That and it will kill the delusions they have of us in here fucking like rabbits.". "Ugh. This " _going slow and getting to know each other_ " thing is going to be extremely frustrating. Why can't we just do it once? Huh?" Lucy growled in frustration. "Because _Bright-eyes_ , I need to prove that I'm worthy of having you at my side, and more importantly, that prize." Erik chuckled. "Erik, you don't need to prove anything? I say that you're worthy of having me, in every sense of the word too. So who's approval are you seeking?" Lucy asked. "I know you approve of me _Bright-eyes_ , but after all the shit I've done in the past, and especially the shit that I did to you, I need to prove to myself that I'm worthy of having you. That and if we rushed things _Titania_ would have my cock and balls mounted as a trophy on her wall before you could say "BOO!". And there's also the other slayers of your guild; they've all claimed you as their family. While I ain't all that scared of the over-grown battery, the pyro, or the rust-bucket. The one I'm really scared of is the little _Sky Princess_. Some of the thoughts she had yesterday about what she'd do to me if I were to ever hurt were frightening. I nearly shit myself from what I heard from her. Of all of the slayers that surround you, she's the most ferocious. Hell, she makes _Titania_ and the _Demon_ look like happy puppy, fluffy clouds, rainbow shitting unicorn, Kumbaya dreams.". "Yeah. I definitely don't want you losing _"Little Erik_ " before I've had my fill of him. But I think you're exaggerating about how scary Wendy will be if you were to hurt me." Lucy said teasingly as she reached her hand out to gently grasp his girthy length; her fingers not even being able to encircle his member on account of his girth. "But even if we don't have sex now, there are other ways we can get each other off." Lucy continued, stroking his swollen member in her dainty hand and thinking; ' _This is really gonna hurt when he finally sticks in my vagina. But after it's in it will feel so, so good. Hmm. My vagina is dripping just thinking about it. I just wished that he'd hurry the hell up and finger me already. I mean dammit, am I gonna have to get us both off._ '. Chuckling, Erik did as his feisty girlfriend wanted and moved a hand down to her sopping core. ' _Fuck! She wasn't kidding. Her cunt is sopping wet. Well, better give the lady what she wants and get her off._ ' Erik thought, as he slid a finger into Lucy's drenched hot core, amazed at the wetness he found there.

As Lucy continued her ministrations of Erik's thick member with her hand Erik easily added a second finger to her quivering womanhood, reveling in the way it squeezed his digits, pulling them in deeper. Feeling her boyfriend add a second finger into her sopping wet heated core Lucy let out a breathy moan. Encouraged by the sound the busty blonde minx made Erik started thrusting his fingers into her faster, going deeper, that is until he felt a barrier. ' _Fuck! She is a virgin. I gotta be careful not to go too deep or I might end up popping her cherry._ ', Erik thought. Lucy winced, feeling her hymen get poked, let out a harsh sigh of from the slight pain she had felt, and stopped moving her hand while looking up to the man whose manhood she was holding. Feeling Lucy's hand stop Erik looked down at her and said, "Sorry _Bright-eyes_. I won't go that deep again, unless you want me to.". Lucy nodded and resumed stroking the piece of man-meat in her dainty hand while leaning up to kiss her boyfriend. Erik too resumed his ministrations, alternating between thrusting and scissoring, stretching Lucy's smooth vaginal walls, and rotated his hand so that the heel was rubbing against her swollen clitoris. This change caused Lucy to begin to purr, and let out another breathy moan against Erik's lips. ' _Damn. I could kiss him all day long. I can't even begin to describe how good he tastes._ ', Lucy thought as she felt a tightening in her lower abdomen. Erik felt Lucy's slick walls flutter around his fingers, and couldn't help the smirk that came to his lips as he continued fingering and kissing the blonde beauty in his arms. At the same time Erik could feel a tightening of his scrotum as his cock throbbed in the blonde's hand, signifying his own end was approaching. At this Erik thought, ' _Fucking hell. Feels like we're both close to cumming. I'd better speed things up to make her cum before I do._ ', and then he added a third finger into the quivering wetness that is his girlfriend's pussy while pressing the heel of his hand more firmly against her engorged clit. Feeling the addition of a third finger and the added pressure to her sensitive nub was the breaking point for Lucy as she broke the kiss enough to mewl, "ERIK! I'm CUMMING!". Erik's smirk grew bigger at these words, and he felt his schlong pulse indicating that he was about to blow too. "Cum for me _Beautiful_. I'm close to cumming too.", Erik whispered against her lips before capturing them with his own, his tongue slithering into the warm wetness of her mouth and coaxing the blonde's tongue out to battle for dominance with his own. Hearing Erik's whispered command, Lucy allowed herself to succumb to the ecstasy and pleasure, and let loose what felt like a waterfall of her womanly juices from her vagina. Erik followed Lucy as she took the proverbial leap over the edge into the pleasurable abyss, unleashing a torrent of his own all over Lucy's abdomen, from her naval to the neatly trimmed patch of golden hair of her pubis located above her now overly-sensitive clitoris, and the back of her hand.

Erik slowly continued stroking his three fingers in and out of the blonde's overly taxed vagina, slowly bringing her down from the euphoric high that she was experiencing, and kissing her mouth, languidly. Lucy also continued stroking his throbbing member, slowly, milking it for every drop of semen that was still seeping from the flared tip.

 **XXX END**

As the couple finally returned from their post-release highs, they slightly parted from one another, staring lovingly into each other's eyes. "That was incredible.", Lucy breathlessly said as she rested her head on her boyfriends well-defined pecs releasing her hold of his now spent member. Removing his fingers from her slightly gushing core, and pulling his hand away from her overly-sensitive womanhood, Erik breathed out; "Fucking hell woman. If a hand-job is like this, then I can't even imagine what a blowjob, or actual sex will be like.". Lucy giggled, with a contented smile on her lips, and said: "Neither can I, _Handsome_. Neither can I.", as she brought her hand to her mouth to lick the jizz that rested there off and taste her boyfriend's essence. Erik was a bit shocked that the blonde minx would want to taste his spunk, but then he looked at his own cum-covered hand and thought; ' _If she's gonna taste mine I might as well taste hers. Not that I haven't wanted to taste it since I smelled it yesterday when she stumbled into our camp. Fuck! It hasn't even been a full 24 hours since we started whatever the fuck this is and she's already jerked me off while I finger-banged her._ ', and with that Erik brought his cum-coated hand up to his lips and gave a tentative lick. ' _Hmm. Tastes pretty damned good. I could definitely get addicted to the taste of her._ ', Erik thought as he tasted his girlfriend's pussy juices for the first time while letting out a contented hum of satisfaction. Lucy watched as her boyfriend brought his hand that was covered in her release to his lips with fascination, and heard the contended hum he let out after taking a taste. "I taste that good?", she asked as she pulled his hand to her mouth to take a lick of her own excretions and hummed in satisfaction. Erik was confused by her actions. "Hmm. I think I taste pretty good on you." she sighed. "You're something else _Bright-eyes_. But damn if I don't love ya.", Erik chuckled. "Love you too, _Stud_. But we should probably clean up and get out so that Meredy and Angel can shower too. And as tasty as both our cum is, I'm getting kinda hungry.", Lucy says as her stomach growls. "Alight _Bright-eyes_.", Erik replied as he squeezed her pert ass and moved her back under the spray of the shower-head, which thankfully hadn't gone cold, and began to wash his " _baby-gravy_ " off her.

Out in Lucy's kitchenette Meredy and Sorano have just finished preparing a hearty breakfast for the four of them to share when Lucy and Cobra finally got out of the shower. "Hey Sora. Do you think we should at least put shirts on?", the pinkette asked her silver-haired guild mate. "Nah. It's not like Cobra's gonna get a nosebleed from seeing your hooters.", Sorano said as she reached around the young busty pink-haired woman giving her pert breasts a gentle squeeze causing the her to moan pleasurably from the action. "And besides, he's seen mine already this morning so it wouldn't make much difference, especially since he only has an eye for Lucy.", the busty silver-haired beauty continued, giving the other woman's tits another squeeze before pulling away at the sound of the bathroom door opening.

Lucy and Erik stepped out of the steam-filled bathroom wrapped in fluffy white towels; his around his waist, and hers clinging to her ample bust. "Smells like they cooked.", Erik said. "Mmm. It does. And it smells divine. Should we get dressed first, or eat first?", the buxom blonde inquired. "Eat first before it gets cold.", came a shout from the kitchenette as Angel walked out with a platter of food in each hand before placing them on the table which was set for four. "Yeah. Hurry up and eat before it gets cold, or I'm gonna do my best to eat it all.", a half-naked Meredy said as she walked out carrying more platters. "Well, does that answer your question _Bright-eyes_?", Cobra said as he came up behind the blonde wrapping his arms around her towel clad petite waist and kissing the top of her wet hair. "But why the fuck are you two half-naked?", Cobra asked the two females. "What's the point? You've already seen my boobs this morning. And it's not like you're gonna get a nosebleed from seeing Mer's bouncy tits. Plus from what I've seen so far this morning, you've only got an eye for Lucy there.", Angel answered, pointing a finger at the cuddling couple. "She does have a point _Hun_. Plus, it'd just be one more thing they would have to take off when they go in to shower.", Lucy quipped as she unwound herself from her boyfriend's grasp to go sit at the table and dig into the delicious looking and smelling breakfast her two friends had made. Cobra couldn't find a reasonable argument for that logic, not that he wanted to argue with his girlfriend, and shrugged as he too went over the table to begin eating.

As the foursome sat down to enjoy their delicious breakfast a light-bulb went off in Lucy's head. "Excuse me for a minute.", she said as she got up and went into the small adjacent kitchenette. "Whatcha looking for Lu? I think we got everything here on the table.", Meredy curiously said as she looked over her shoulder into the kitchenette and watched her towel clad blonde friend rummage through a lower cabinet. "I know that Mer, but I thought _Cobie_ would like some poisonous cleaner with his food.". Lucy said back while still rooting through the cupboard looking for the cleaner she wanted to give her boyfriend to enhance his meal. "Ah ha! I found it!", the blonde cheered as she stood up, her towel falling as she did, and walked back to the table. "Huh, Lucy. Your towel.", Angel said drawing the blonde's attention to her now nudity. Lucy looked down at her nakedness and shrugged, replying; "Meh. It's not like you all haven't already seen me naked once this morning.". The others just shrugged and resumed eating, but Cobra paused long enough to ask, "So, what's this cleaner you went look for for me?". "Oh. It's a special cleaner from the Celestial Realm. It's very powerful stuff, and highly poisonous too. Virgo got it for me for cleaning up after my team has been over, or whenever I get back from a long mission and need to clean my place and camping gear. It cleans anything, even jizz stains. And don't ask how I know that because I NEVER want to talk about _that_ again.", the blonde replied handing the container of Celestial cleaner to her boyfriend. Cobra accepted the proffered cleaner and opened it to take a whiff, but he could smell the potency of the stuff even before he could bring it to his nose. "Damn _babe_! This shit is potent.", he exclaimed; salivating at the thought of how good it must taste. "Yeah it is. A teaspoon is enough to clean my entire apartment, and that's after Erza, Gray, Happy, and Natsu have been here. It really gets the scorch marks out from Natsu swinging a flaming fist at Gray and missing. So, I don't know how much you should use if you're going to eat it though.", Lucy said as she took a bite of her food.

It was at that moment that the room was filled with a blinding light, and a puff of pink smoke. " _Princess_. I would suggest that Mister Cobra not consume more than a quarter teaspoon a day until he has built-up a tolerance to " _Celestial Ajax_ ".", Virgo said, pulling a quarter teaspoon measuring spoon from the pocket of her frilly white apron and handing it to the Poison Dragon Slayer who accepted the measuring spoon gratefully. "Thank you Virgo.", Lucy said to her stoic spirit, noticing that the spirit was dressed in only her apron. "Uh, Virgo? Where are you clothes?", Lucy inquired of the spirit. "Apologies _Princess_. I was in the middle of doing laundry and preparing to take a bath when I sensed that Mr. Cobra was about to consume the cleaner. I only had enough time to grab the correct measuring spoon and my apron in order to get here in time to prevent him from killing himself from consuming too much.", the pink-haired spirit explained. "Also _Princess_ , I took the liberty of packing all of your bags while you and Mr. Cobra were in the shower.", the maid spirit said while pointing to the packed bags sitting by the door. "Is there anything else you require _Princess_?", the pinkette asked with a deep bow causing her frilly apron to fall away and providing everyone in the room with a generous view of her body- from her ample bosom, with erect nipples, down to her trimmed pink-haired pubis. "Thank you for packing our bags, Virgo. There's nothing else that I require of you at the moment. But after you've finished with the things you are doing in the Celestial Realm could you come clean up here?", Lucy asked her spirit. "Of course _Princess_. I'll be sure to give the shower an extra good scrubbing.", the spirit said with a mischievous glint in her Cerulean blue eyes. Lucy blushed at the spirit's implication. "Th-that's fine Virgo. You may go back now.", Lucy stuttered. The pink-haired maid spirit bowed again, giving everyone a generous view of her curvaceous body, before disappearing in flash of blinding light and puff of pink smoke. The rest of the meal was eaten in near silence; the sounds of cutlery scraping against china and swallowing being the only sounds.

After everyone had eaten their fill, Meredy and Angel left the table to go into the bathroom to shower; noticeable wet spots adorning the crotch of their panties- both women had become aroused by Lucy's nudity and the two generous views of the pink-haired maid spirit's white frilly apron clad curvaceous body. The Dragon Slayer in the room could smell their arousal, and the arousal of his naked blonde-haired girlfriend; the aroma causing him to become aroused.

Once the door to the bathroom had closed, and the sound of water running could be heard Cobra looked over to his blonde girlfriend and smirked saying; "So, _Bright-eyes_ , we should probably clean this mess up a bit and get dressed? Unless there's something else you wanna do, or should I say, "take care of", first?". The naked busty blonde stood from her seat and moved over to sit in her handsome, towel clad boyfriend's lap and wound her arms around his neck while lowering her lips to meet his. But before their lips could touch Cobra pulled his head back and turned away from the kissable full lips of the blonde and said; "We probably shouldn't kiss until after I've brushed my teeth again to get rid of the residual cleaner in my mouth. Don't wanna accidentally poison your cute little ass.", giving her naked ass a gentle squeeze. "Yeah. Definitely don't want that happening now do we?", she said placing a chaste kiss on the scar over his right eye; the action causing the Dragon Slayer to purr. Upon hearing the sound, Lucy giggled while Erik blushed and thought; ' _Did I just fucking purr? What the actual fuck? I ain't no fucking cat? So, why the fuck did I just fucking purr?_ '. "You're probably thinking that you didn't just "purr", but you did. There's nothing wrong with it. It's was cute. That, and all the others tend to purr when they're content and happy. So, it just means that my kissing your scar made you happy.", Lucy said, placing another kiss to the scarred flesh around her boyfriend's right eye. "So, you're telling me that the _Match-dick_ , _Rust-bucket_ , and _Sparkler_ all purr when their mate does shit like that to them?", Erik inquired of his soon-to-be mate. "Yup. Because of his motion sickness Natsu rests his head in my lap and I run my fingers through his hair, which is surprisingly soft but not as soft as yours _Honey_ , and he purrs like Happy and falls asleep until we reach our destination. I also did the same thing to Laxus on the one job that we did together. And the one time I went on a job with Levy and Gaj, Levy did the same to him. His purr was so cute.", Lucy cheerfully replied. Cobra growled at learning that other men had had their heads in _HIS_ mate's lap, and that while she played with their hair they had purred. Lucy playfully wrapped her knuckled against Erik's chest and said; "Don't be like that _Darling_. It was either that, or listen to them moan and complain the entire time, and possibly puke all over the booth. I'd rather have them not complaining and puking everywhere thank you very much. And besides Erik, I wouldn't be jealous of Angel or Meredy if they provide you with comfort while travelling by train or carriage. And don't think for a second that I didn't notice the way you gaped at Virgo earlier, Mister.". "Point taken _Beautiful_. I'll try to curb my jealousy, if that's what it is. But you gotta remember, this shit is all new to me so cut me some slack woman. And as for me staring at your practically naked spirit; it was kinda hard not to when she was right fucking next to me, and on my good side too.", Erik conceded. "But those two.", Erik began jerking a thumb towards the closed bathroom door; "Those two wanted to tackle the pink-haired masochist and go to town on her. And that twisted spirit was actually hoping for it; and not just from them, but from all of us.". Lucy was shocked by what her boyfriend had said about her two friends who were currently in her bathroom sharing a shower, and her faithful maid spirit. "Ser-seriously?", she said, still scandalized by the information her boyfriend had gleaned from her friends' and spirit's souls. "I promised when I asked to court you that I would NEVER lie to you about anything. So, don't doubt that what I said isn't true, _Bright-eyes_. And you don't have to worry about me being with any other women, because that shit just ain't gonna happen. I think I've got a good thing here with you, and I'll be damned if some " _horny bitch in heat_ " is gonna fuck that up.", Erik said kissing Lucy's Carotid pulse point, making her purr in pleasure. "Okay. I won't ever doubt you again Erik.", Lucy breathlessly sighed. Unwrapping her arms from around the maroon-haired man's neck, Lucy hopped up, her full breasts and ass jiggling as she did, and said; "But now I think we better get dressed. I'm sure the others are waiting for us so that we can get going to the Konzern.". "Yeah. You ain't wrong _Bright-eyes_. But the _Scrap-heap_ and his mate down the street heading this way so we better hurry before they get here.", Cobra said as he got up and walked over to the bathroom door and pounded on it so that the occupants would be able to hear him over the shower. "OI! HURRY THE FUCK UP IN THERE! _METAL-FACE_ AND HIS GIRLFRIEND WILL BE HERE IN ABOUT 5 MINUTES! SO, GET YOUR FINGERS OUTTA EACH OTHER'S CUNTS AND HURRY UP!", Cobra shouted through the door before making his way over to the bed where a pile of his clean clothes had been laid out. ' _Guess when that maid spirit packed up she left clothes out for us._ ', Cobra thought as he started to dress.

"WHAT THE FUCK COBRA! WE WERE NOT DOING THAT, YOU FUCKING PERV!", Angel shouted as she exited the steam-filled bathroom and went to the stack of her clean clothes that had been left out for her. "Yeah Cobra! We weren't fingering each other!", Meredy said as she now exited the bathroom drying her long pink-rose colored hair and walking over to her own pile of clean clothes. Cobra just rolled his eye as he pulled shirt over his head and said, "Whatever you say _Pinkie_.". Both women we fiercely blushing because they knew full well that Cobra had heard everything that they had been doing in the bathroom. "Just hurry the fuck up and get dressed. The _Rust-bucket_ and his shorty are outside right now.", Cobra said to his two, still very naked, female guild mates before turning to look over to his golden-blonde girlfriend and seeing her securing her whip and keys on her black leather belt.

A heavy knock on the main door resounded through the tiny apartment causing the pink and silver haired women to let out startled squeaks- "EEP!"- and grab their clothes and rush back into the bathroom to get dressed. Cobra shook his head and chuckled at the antics of his female guild mates. Lucy also giggled at the women's reaction as she went to answer her door and let in her book loving bestie and the Iron Dragon Slayer.

"Levy! Gaj! Good morning.", Lucy cheerfully greeted the couple with a hug. Behind her she heard a growl, most likely from her boyfriend, only to hear another growl emanating closer to her, most likely from the Dragon Slayer she was currently hugging. After Lucy let them go Levy smacked Gajeel's arm and admonished; "What have I told you about growling at people that aren't your enemy?". Levy then turned her attention back to her bestest friend to give her a proper greeting. "Good morning Lu. I hope that you slept well.", the short blue-haired woman said, a mischievous smirk on her lips, as she scanned around the quaint little apartment. "I thought Meredy and Angel were here since neither of them were at Fairy Hills or the guild? Gaj, didn't you say that you smelled them here, and that you heard them and Cobra yelling at each other?", the little Solid Script mage asked. "Gihi! They're here. They weren't dressed when I knocked so the hightailed it into _Bunny's_ bathroom to probably get dressed.", Gajeel answered as he made for the dining table which was still littered with leftover food. "GAJEEL! STOP! Not that plate. That was _Cobie's_ , which means that it's laced with poison. If you're hungry then you can have what's left on any of the other plates. Cobra get over here and help me clean this stuff up, please?", Lucy screeched as she lunged toward the table to prevent the Iron Dragon Slayer from eating the leftover food on the Poison Dragon Slayer's plate before asking the latter to help clear the table. "Sure _babe_.", Cobra said as he closed the door and escorted the bluenette over to the couch acting as good host in his girlfriend's place, which struck the socially awkward slayer as odd that he had done that but shrugged it off as some instinctual thing that the _Rust-bucket_ had told him about yesterday. "You'd better be planning on either buying me new silverware, or making me some Gajeel.", Lucy admonished as the Iron Dragon Slayer had just taken a bite out of one of her forks. "Gihi. Sorry _Bunny_. I'll buy you a new set, and I'll coat it in my iron so this sorta thing won't happen again.", Gajeel said sheepishly while running a hand through his unruly black locks. "You'd better mister.", Lucy said with a dark demonic aura swirling around her. The Iron Slayer could only gulp in fear of the little blonde and nod his head before moving to cower by his mate's side.

Just as Gajeel was about to sit down next to his little blue haired mate he was violently shoved aside as a shout of "LEVY!" rang out through the small apartment. As he turned to see who shoved him he noticed his mate being attacked by a blur of pink and silver and moved to defend his mate, and loudly growled with his eyes narrowing into reptilian-like slits. But after hearing his little mate giggling, Gajeel relaxed his defensive posture and took a closer look at what was happening. The little bluenette was being hugged by two people; one with pink hair and the other with silver, and both having feminine bodies. Realizing that his mate was not in any danger, other than possible suffocation from the two women's abundant busts, Gajeel completely relaxed and sat up on the floor at the end of the couch deciding that it was probably the safest place to sit.

The three women hugging on the couch in the blonde Celestial mage's quaint apartment had been oblivious to the growling Iron Dragon Slayer, but the Celestial mage and her Poison Dragon Slayer had heard it from the adjacent kitchenette and rushed to see what was going only to find the Dragon Slayer growling on the floor in a defensive posture staring at his blue haired mate who was giggling while being crushed by two other women. After seeing the Dragon Slayer completely relax and sit-up on the floor by the end of the couch, the blonde turned and went back into the kitchen area to finish cleaning up the breakfast dishes, while the Poison Dragon Slayer glared at his fellow slayer as if asking, "What the fuck?", before returning to help his girlfriend clean up.

After Lucy and Cobra finished cleaning up the mess from breakfast they adjourned to her cozy living area where the others had been engaging in quiet conversation. Cobra plopped down on the comfy over-sized armchair, while Lucy opted to sit cross-legged on the floor at the coffee table opposite the couch. Cobra wondered why she didn't just plop her ass on his lap, and why the chair had been vacant in the first place, until he heard everyone's thoughts; ' _I can't believe that he is sitting in the chair._ ', and ' _I guess no one told him that Gray sits in that chair._ ', and that was when he understood why no one else had been sitting there.

" _Frosty-balls_ needs to buy you another chair, _Bright-eyes_. Either that or once I have some Jewels coming in I'll buy my own chair to keep here and if either _Ice-dick_ or _Flame-brain_ , or that blue fur-ball go near it I won't be held responsible for what happens to them. But _Titania_ or any other guests are welcome to sit in though.", Cobra said as he quickly got out of the chair that the Ice-make mage normally sits in and moved to stretch out on the floor behind his blonde girlfriend.

"I've been after Gray to buy me a new chair since the first I came in to find him sitting there naked. And the sad thing is that as he was leaving he said, " _I was already naked when I got here._ ". And with how often he strips out of his clothes I have as many of his clothes in my closet as I do my own. Thankfully Virgo was able to enlarge my closet without making appear larger on the outside.", Lucy said; clearly exasperated with her team mate's stripping habit. "But maybe if you told him to buy me a new chair he'd actually do it, _Hun._ So, there's no harm in you trying.", she continued, turning to kiss the Poison Slayer's cheek.

The others in the living area had mixed feelings about the exchange between the new couple; all the females thought it cute, while the only male was struggling not to vomit over the sappiness. The six people currently lounging in the blonde Celestial mage's living room chatted about random things, and the upcoming journey to the esteemed Heartfilia Konzern.

"Oi, _Bunny-girl_. How long is gonna take to get to your mansion?", the Iron Dragon Slayer asked. The others in the room were also curious about how long the journey would take, and turned their attention to the blonde.

The blonde tapped her chin in contemplation before responding. "Now do you want to know how long it will take to get the Konzern itself, or the mansion? Because the time will vary. It will take about 5 hours of walking just to reach the boundary of the Konzern, and then it's another hour to the mansion itself.", the blonde simply stated. The others gaped at this tidbit.

Levy shook of her disbelief and asked her friend, "Lu, are you serious? It's going to take 6 hours to get there? And we have to walk?". "Yeah, Lev. I'm serious. The Konzern is situated on 60 square miles of land. And yeah, we have to walk all the way there; there's no trains that run anywhere near the Konzern. It's part of why it took my dad nearly a year to figure out that I was gone.", Lucy replied to her blue haired friend.

"Gihi! At least me and _Acid-breath_ over there ain't gotta get on that metal moving death trap.", Gajeel chuckled while tilting his head in the direction of the other slayer in the room. "And besides _Shrimp_ , if ya get tired I'll just carry ya. Gihi.", he added.

Just then a tapping sound was heard. Everyone looked around trying to find the source of the tapping. But Lucy and the Dragon Slayers all cast their eyes towards the windows where they saw a small black Exceed in green pants, a Crescent moon shaped scar above his left eye, and a small sword strapped to his back.

"The window is unlocked Lily.", Lucy said to the now named Exceed. Lily grasped the bottom edge of the window sash lifting it enough for him to enter the apartment, and promptly closing and locking it before hopping off the sill and moving over to the living area with the others.

"Good morning Lucy.", the black Exceed said in his baritone voice. "Good morning to you as well Lily. What brings you by? Oh. Where are my manners? Would you care for something to drink, Lily? I have some Kiwi juice.", Lucy cheerfully greeted, offering her newest guest some refreshments.

Before Lucy could stand to go retrieve the refreshment Cobra got up, putting a hand on her shoulder silently telling her, " _Stay. I got this_.", before heading into the kitchenette to get the Exceed's drink.

"As for the reason for my visit; Gajeel and Levy had come to retrieve you to get underway to your family's home, Lucy. But as they hadn't returned yet Jellal asked if would come and see what was taking so long.", Lily said. "Thank you.", he directed to Cobra who had returned with a glass of Kiwi juice, before taking the glass and drinking the juice; his favorite.

"Oh. Well, we were just chatting. But I suppose we should get going if we want to get there before it's too late.", Lucy said as she stood up, brushing her hand over the keys attached to the belt on her hips sending a silent message to her maid spirit asking if she would come and finish cleaning up after they had left, and made for the door to put on her boots and grab her bag. The others following suit.

Once the group of six mages and one Exceed were outside on the street, Lucy pulled a Silver key from the pouch on her hip and summoned Plue; her snowman-like little doggy companion spirit: **"Open Gate of the Little Dog: Plue"**. The little spirit arrived in a flash of light and puff of white smoke.

"Puu. Puun.", the spirit said, giving a little dance. Lucy knelt and patted the little spirit's head while reaching into her pocket pulling out a lollipop and said with a giggle; "Good morning Plue. Here's your lolli.". "Puuu. Puun.", the dog spirit squealed as he happily accepted his sweet treat before being picked up by his blonde master who gave him a squeeze.

As the group walked towards the Fairy Tail Guildhall, Cobra couldn't help but to jealously think; ' _Lucky little bastard. Nestled snuggly in the pillowy softness of_ Bright-eyes' _tits._ '. As if he had sensed the Poison Dragon Slayer's thoughts Plue glanced over to him holding his lollipop out and said, "Puun. Puu. Puun.", while thinking; ' _She carries me like this because she doesn't want me to trip and choke on my lolli. You want a lick?_ '. Cobra's eye widened at the little spirit's thoughts and offer and replied; "Nah little guy. It's your lolli. But thanks anyways.". Lucy giggled, happy that her spirit and boyfriend were getting along.

As the troupe approached the Fairy Tail Guildhall they saw a spikey blue-haired man pacing in front of the large doors. The man looked up as he heard the group approaching and said; "Ah. There you are. Now let's get the others and we can get underway.".

"Hold it _Blueberry_. I got some business with _Icicle-dick_ to take of first, and _Metal-breath_ has some business with the _Drunkard_.", Cobra said to his Guild Master.

"Gihi. Oh yeah. This is gonna be good.", The Iron Dragon Slayer said as he kicked the doors to the guild open. All activity inside the guild came to a screeching halt at the sound of the large double oak doors crashing open. Over the silence Gajeel shouted over to the bikini top clad brunette at the bar; "Oi! _Drunkard_! Pay up! Gihi!". This caused everyone, especially his bluenette mate, to look at him in confusion.

"Whatcha talking about _Lead-dick_?", the brunette questionaly slurred while bringing a tankard of Ale to her lips. "You know darn well what I'm talking about ya _Drunk_. The "Cobra x Lucy" pool.", Gajeel answered as he approached the bar. "So, pay up!", he snarled in the brunette's face. "Where's your proof?", she asked. "Right over there.", the iron Dragon Slayer said as he pointed in the direction that Lucy and Cobra had gone to talk to the Ice-make mage.

While Gajeel had been talking and making his way up to the Fairy Tail's resident Card mage, and Champion Drinker: Cana Alberona, Lucy and Cobra went towards where Lucy's team mate, Gray Fullbuster, sat with his blue-haired girlfriend, Juvia " _Rain-woman_ " Lockser.

"Oi, you limp-wristed _Ice Queen_! You owe _Bright-eyes_ here a new chair!", Cobra snarled as he got in the Ice-make mage's face. "Because of your naked ass she's got one less place for people to sit in her living room when they visit. So, you're gonna buy her a new chair or else!", he growled, a wisp of a purplish mist seeping past his clenched teeth.

Gray's eyes widened and he gulped at the implied threat from the Poison Dragon Slayer and stutteringly asked; "O-okay. Wh-what ki-kind of ch-chair wo-would yo-you li-like Lu-Lucy?". "Something comfy enough that I can nap in when I visit while she writes, or cuddles with me and naps or reads. And if you, _Flametard_ , or his _Fleabag_ so much as touch it once it's in _Bright-eyes_ ' place there will be dire consequences. Got it?", Cobra answered. "AY-AYE SI-SIR!", the terrified black-haired man said. And from another part of the guildhall a similar response was heard.

Back at the bar area Gajeel looked at Cana and said, "There's yer proof, _Drunkie_. Now pay up.", holding his hand out expectantly. "Fuck!", the brunette cursed as she reached over the bar to retrieve a Betting Ledger that was there. "Alright everyone. Pay up. CoLu is a thing.", she shouted.

"Hey, Gajeel! Don't forget about my cut!", Lucy shouted over the Iron Dragon Slayer. "Yeah, yeah. I won't forget _Bunny_.", the man said.

 **Whelp. There you have it folks; CoLu Week Day 2: Pool. I know that this is a day late, but I did say that I might not get the prompts in one time. Now excuse me as I get to work on the prompt for Day 3: Endearment. I think that you'll enjoy it; I hope. Anyways, thanks for reading, and I seriously hope that you enjoyed this.**

 **Leave me some reviews so I know if I'm doing a good job or not. Seriously. Thus far I've gotten 7 reviews, and I like to take the opportunity to thank those who have reviewed:** **unmei k. isayama** **,** **JenHeartAl, GemNika, kittentf, and doseofdream. I'd also like to thank the 29 readers who have FOLLOWED and the 11 who have FAVORITED this. It means a lot to me that my story has been so well received. So, thank you all.**


	6. Chapter 6: Endearment

**I hope that you all enjoyed "CoLu Week Day 2: Pool"? Anyways, here's "CoLu Week Day 3: Endearment". I'm going to try a different writing style that was suggested by a fellow fan fiction author, and reviewer: doseofdream.**

 **Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL OR ANY OF IT'S CHARACTERS; HIRO MASHIMA DOES.**

* * *

 **Endearment**

After Gajeel had collected his winnings from the betting pool on Cobra and Lucy's relationship - the members of Fairy Tail will bet on anything – and Cobra had put the "FEAR OF DEATH" into Gray in order to get him to buy a new chair – a comfy chair that the Poison Dragon Slayer can nap in – for the blonde Celestial mage's apartment, and Lucy getting her cut of the betting pool pot, the members of Crime Sorciere along with Lucy, the Iron Dragon Slayer, his Solid Script mage mate, and Exceed departed **Fairy Tail** and **Magnolia** enroute to the blonde Celestial mage's family's grand estate: **Heartfilia Konzern**.

Once the group of mages had left the quaint town of **Magnolia** the blue-haired Master of the guild, Crime Sorciere, Jellal Fernandes, asked; "So, Lucy how long will it take to reach the **Heartfilia Konzern**? And why did we not head to the train station?".

"To answer your questions, Jellal, it will take roughly 5 hours to reach the boundary of the **Konzern** , and another hour to reach the mansion itself. As to why we are not going by train; it's because the tracks don't go anywhere near the **Konzern**. We will be approaching from the Southwest, and there is another town about 4 hours from the main house to the Northeast.", Lucy supplied.

Jellal, Racer, Hot-eye, and a now awake Midnight were all stunned at how far away they were going. Jellal, shaking off his shock at learning how truly isolated the esteemed Heartfilia estate is, said; "Then it truly is the ideal location for us to establish our headquarters. We won't be a bother to any civilians. And with how far away it is from any towns Cobra and Midnight will have plenty of peace and quiet.".

"Lu? I thought that your dad had it bought out from under him by the Junelle's?", the bluenette curiously inquired of the blonde.

"Yeah, Levs, it was. That fat, sweaty toad, Duke Sawarr Junelle, did; mostly out of spite at my refusal. But he was arrogant and bet it on the outcome of the x792 Grand Magic Games. Needless to say, he lost and the **Konzern** wasn't the only thing he lost. He nearly went bankrupt with how much he lost. The princess, Hisui, with a little help from me, was the big winner. As a thank you, and a part of my cut of the winnings, she gave it back to me; debt and tax free. In fact, the king, King Toma, said that as long as I, or my descendants, hold the deed that there would be no taxes levied on the estate. They even made me an honorary member of the royal court, complete with the title of " _Duchess of_ _ **Magnolia**_ ". I should probably contact Hisui and let her know that I'm letting Crime Sorciere use it as their guild's Official Headquarters. I don't think she'll mind. In fact, I think she'll be pleased that they are establishing a headquarters and becoming a Legal Guild like Fairy Tail.", the blonde said whist-fully.

"Wow, Lu! I didn't know that you and the princess were on a first name basis? Or that you were so friendly with the Royal family that they named you a _Duchess_?", the pink-haired Maguilty mage exclaimed.

"Hehe. Yeah, Mer. Hisui and I became good friends after the Eclipse Gate Incident. In fact, after she heard about the destruction in **Magnolia** and the guild disbanding she personally came to **Magnolia**. She found me sitting in my apartment, filthy and depressed, she brought me back to **Crocus** , cleaned me up, and encouraged me to pursue my dream of being a writer. It was with her help that Jason hired me to work for him at " _Sorcerer's Weekly_ "; plus, he was ecstatic to have a member of Fairy Tail working with him. He even made some Jewel on the games. And if it hadn't been for Jason and his contacts I doubt that my novel would have ever been published.", the blonde giggled.

* * *

The small group of mages and Exceed continued walking towards the **Heartfilia Konzern** , talking amicably amongst themselves; even the narcoleptic Reflector mage, Midnight. At around midday the blue-haired Heavenly Body mage, and Guild Master, stopped and said; "Alright everyone. By my calculations we are approximately half way to our destination. So, let's take a break and have some lunch.".

The small troupe of mages all murmured their ascent to the idea of taking a break and having something to eat. As they were all settling under the shady branches of a Weeping-willow there was a bright flash of light followed by a puff of pink smoke.

" _Princess_ , I have brought lunch for everyone. Also, I have a message for you from the **Celestial Realm** , and I quote: " _Hurry the hell up brat_. _I may be immortal, but that doesn't mean I've got all day to wait on your cry-baby ass. And I expect to meet this "boyfriend" of your that I've been hearing about._ ". I'll return to clean up when you are all finished.", the pink-haired maid spirit said with a deep bow, that caused the Reflector and Speed mages to get nosebleeds from the view of the spirit's lacy panty covered heart-shaped ass, as several bento boxes appeared on a blanket amidst the group of mages.

"Thank you for the lunches Virgo. And tell the person who sent the message that we are halfway there, and that they will get to meet my boyfriend, but not until we've talked privately first.", the Celestial mage said, her faithful spirit disappearing another flash of golden light and puff of pink smoke.

"Well, Midnight's done for the day. I doubt that he'll be recovered by this time tomorrow. Good thing he's on his flying carpet. You alright over there, Racer?", the silver-haired Angel mage said, getting a "thumbs up" from her guild mate, Racer, indicating that he's fine.

After staunching Midnight and Racer's nosebleeds, the group of mages sat down and began sorting and dividing up the boxed lunches; the ones with a " _Skull and Cross-bones_ " going to the Poison Dragon Slayer, and discovering that the boxes marked, "Fe", contained iron being passed to the Iron Dragon Slayer, everyone tucked in to their boxes; save for Midnight who was passed out from the massive nosebleed he got when he saw the sheer lace panties the pinkette maid spirit was wearing.

"Gihi! That maid of yours makes a mean lunch, _Bunny-girl_. It's better than anything I get at the guild, but don't tell the _Demon_ that; and the iron is some of the best I've had since I was a kid.", Gajeel commented between mouthfuls.

"Hehe. Your secret is safe, Gajeel. I promise.", the blonde giggled. "How are the rest of you enjoying your food?", she asked.

Her answer were several murmured grunts, especially from her Poison Dragon Slayer boyfriend who looked as though he was about to orgasm on account of how delicious his food was. The blonde giggled at how much everyone was enjoying their respective lunches, especially her boyfriend.

* * *

After everyone had had their fill the maid spirit returned to clear away the leftovers and debris before the group of mages and Exceed got back underway to their destination of the **Heartfilia Konzern**. As they walked onward the blonde Celestial mage rested her head on her maroon-haired Poison Dragon Slayer/Soul Listening mage boyfriend's left arm, and sighed contentedly.

"You good there, _Duchess Bright-eyes_?", the maroon-haired man asked; leaning down to kiss the top of his girlfriend's head. "Hmm. Very.", she replied.

"So, what was the _masochist_ maid of yours talking about with that cryptic message? Who exactly is wanting to meet me? The only reason I'm asking is cause I ain't getting shit from your soul; it's just white-noise. So, what's going on, _Bright-eyes_?", Cobra asked the blonde at his side.

"Aquarius.", was all the blonde said aloud; and that was barely a whisper. But her soul told the whole story; from Aquarius commanding the blonde to sacrifice her key during the fight with the Demons of Tartaros in order to summon the Celestial Spirit King and safe everyone, to Aquarius suddenly appearing when the blonde was being choked by the busty bikini clad green-haired Command T mage, and former member of the Spriggan 12 of Alvarez, Brandish Mu, and taking both women into the " **Star Memory Road** " and showing them the truth of the relationship their mother's had and how the Command T's mother had been brutally murdered by a jealous companion, to Aquarius revealing that her key would be reappearing in this world again soon, to Loke giving the blonde Celestial mage a letter from Aquarius yesterday that held a clue as to where the new key can be found: " _"_ _Hey brat. As I told you before, my key will be reborn in your world, well it's back. As much as I hate you, because you're such a cry-baby, I don't want anyone else wielding my key, also because I swore to your dear mother that I would look out for you. So, I'm gonna give you hint as to where you can find my key, brat: "Go back to where it all began for us". I'm sure by now your sniveling; well, STOP IT YOU DAMNED BRAT OR I'M GONNA GIVE YOU SOMETHING TO SNIVEL ABOUT! Now go find my key. Oh, and once you touch my key our previous contract will be reinstated, so there's no real need to summon me. BUT YOU BETTER YOU DAMNED BRAT! I'm waiting. Aquarius"_. And now the blonde was so close to getting the key to summon her very first friend; the one being she was closest to in the whole of Earthland; her second mother: Aquarius. A single tear fell from the blonde mage's eyes. It was that sacrifice that had left her feeling so empty and depressed. But despite suffering the petite blonde never said a word to anyone; not her closest human, which is a bit of stretch given that Natsu is actually an Etherious, friends and guild mates- the people she considered her family- because it was her burden to bear, and she doubted that most of them would even understand her grief.

Reaching over to wipe away the tear that was making its way down the petite blonde woman's cheek and wrapping his arm around her shoulders and nestling her head to his chest, Cobra whispered; "I hear ya loud and clear _Bright-eyes_. While I don't fully understand it all, I'll do my best to make sure that you never have to go through something like that again. And I promise ya that I'll get ya there so you can get that key and summon her and reunite; though if she's like a mother to ya then I'm kind scared to meet her.".

The little blonde giggled and wiped away the rest of the tears from her eyes, and said; "You have similar attitudes, and you've both tried killing me; her more than you. So, I think that you'll get along swimmingly; and that's not some corny pun because she is a mermaid. Truthfully, I'm scared that I won't be able to stop blubbering when I see her again.".

"Hey, no worries _Duchess Bright-eyes_. I'll be close by, and as soon as you start bawling I'll come and hold ya till ya stop.", Cobra whispered into her hair as he kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks, _Honey_. If I have you by my side I might be able to get through it.", Lucy said before taking in her surroundings, and thought; ' _Huh? We've made good time, because we're already on the property. And judging by the trees here we're about another half hour from the mansion._ '. "Hey guys? We're almost to the mansion; about half an hour to go.", she said to the group.

"Seriously!? Then what are we waiting for? Move it people! The sooner we get there, the sooner I can find a bathroom with a bathtub and take a nice long hot soak.", Angel exclaimed as she started running forward before realizing that she didn't know if she was heading in the right direction and stopping to look back at the rest of the group of mages and Exceed, and asking; "Um, which way?".

"You're good Angel. The mansion is straight ahead. Just let me send Virgo on ahead to start cleaning since no one has been here since the Infinity Clock thing.", Lucy quipped before taking out Virgo's key and summoning her. " **Open! Gate of the Maiden: Virgo!** ", she shouted, and in a flash of blinding golden light, and a puff of pink smoke, the maid spirit appeared, bowing to her key holder.

"Punishment, _Princess_?", the stoic spirit asked with a hopeful gleam in her Cerulean eyes. The blonde Celestial mage sweat dropped at the spirits question before replying.

"Actually, yes Virgo. I want you to go on ahead to the mansion and clean every room in it from top to bottom, inside and out. You will also prepare rooms for everyone, complete with fresh linens, soaps, and hair care products. And you will wear a skimpy sexy cat costume complete with paws. That is your punishment for giving Midnight and Racer nosebleeds earlier, and causing Midnight to lose consciousness. Then you will wait and greet us at the door still dressed as a naughty kitty.", the Celestial mage said to her masochistic spirit.

"As you wish, _Princess_.", the pink-haired spirit said before disappearing in a puff of pink smoke to carry out the task given her.

"She should be done by the time we get there. I don't think you would appreciate spiders in your bath Angel.", the blonde said as she started walking forward again; the feather clad silver-haired beauty shivering and making a disgusted face at the thought of spiders anywhere near her.

* * *

The group continued at a leisurely pace so as to give the pink-haired maid spirit plenty of time to thoroughly clean the mansion before they arrived. When the group of mages and Exceed approached the main entrance of the now sparkling Heartfilia mansion the ornate double doors opened of their own accord, and the group was greeted by something, more precisely, someone, they hadn't expected. Standing there in the entryway beside Virgo, who was still dressed in a slutty cat costume, was another of Lucy's Celestial Zodiac spirits; Capricorn.

As the group of mages reached the door, the two spirits bowed deeply to their key holder and her companions, with Capricorn speaking first.

"Lady Lucy, welcome home. And to Lady Lucy's friends; I bid you welcome to my Lady's esteemed home.", the 6' 6" tall humanoid dark sunglasses wearing goat spirit dressed as a butler addressed the group as he waved them through the doors to the mansion while still respectfully bowing. And Virgo, deep in her cat character, simply meowed in greeting while also bowing in a respectable manner.

"Thank you, Capricorn. But what are you doing here?", the Celestial mage asked her faithful spirit that she had inherited from her late mother, and handing him her bag.

"It is simple, Lady Lucy. Through the bond of our contract I sensed your approach and came through my gate under my own power to properly greet you and your friends.", the goat spirit logically stated as he adjusted his sunglasses.

"Oh. Okay then. Thank you, Capricorn. Would you be so kind as to show my friends around the mansion for me? I have more pressing matters to contend with as you know. And mama's study, hers and father's bedroom, and my bedroom are strictly off limits, with mama's study only being accessible with my accompaniment.", Lucy inquired of her butler-like spirit.

"Of course, Lady Lucy. I would be most glad to show your friends around the mansion. Will you be staying in your rooms, or another room?", the spirit agreed while asking where his mistress would be sleeping so that he may place her bag in the proper room.

"Just place my bag in whatever room Cobra claims as his for the time being, Capricorn. I really must take care of that urgent matter. Virgo, if you would be so kind as to stock the pantries, and begin preparations for dinner, please? And also, you can change back into your normal clothes, but no more flashing your panties to everyone.", the blonde addressed her spirits before dashing towards a door off to the side of the foyer disappearing from sight leaving her friends confused. In her mind, she sent a thought to her boyfriend, ' _Listen for me to call you when I'm ready for you and Aquarius to meet. Love you, my dragon._ '.

Cobra chuckled as his blonde spit-fire of girlfriend ran off to take care retrieving the Celestial Zodiac key that they had talked about enroute to the sprawling **Heartfilia Konzern** , while Levy looked at the spirits and asking; "What urgent matter was Lu talking about? And where does that door lead?".

"Virgo. Lady Lucy has given you your task, please go carry it out while I carry out the task that I have been given by Lady Lucy.", the goat spirit said to his fellow spirit who nodded in agreement and said; "Excuse me.", before disappearing in a puff of pink smoke. Capricorn the turned to address the confused group of mages before him.

"To answer your questions Miss Levy; the urgent matter that my Lady left to attend to is of the utmost priority, and need to know. In time, I am sure that Lady Lucy will no doubt inform you, but for now it is best left a mystery. As for you second question; the door that Lady Lucy went through leads outside to her mother's flower gardens. It was in those gardens that Lady Layla and Lady Lucy spent many an hour prior to Lady Layla's health diminishing, and ultimately leading to her early death.", the goat spirit sadly said, pointing towards the portrait of the Heartfilia's that was hanging over the landing of the grand staircase and wiping a tear from his eye.

The troupe of mages looked up at the portrait of the smiling family; shocked at what they were seeing. Gajeel was the first to recover and speak.

"Gihi. _Bunny-girl_ sure was a cute little shit. And damn if she don't look like her mom.", the black-haired man said.

"Yes. Lady Lucy most certainly was a cute child. It is my personal belief that Lady Layla and Mr. Jude would be so proud of the beautiful, strong, and independent woman that Lady Lucy has grown into.", the butler-like spirit whist-fully said. "Now, if you will all leave your bags here for the time being, and follow me I will give you a tour of the mansion. And do not worry about your bags, I will ensure that they are placed in the rooms you choose after the tour.", the humanoid goat said after regaining his composure.

As the Zodiac Celestial spirit, Capricorn, began giving the members of Crime Sorciere, Levy, Gajeel, and Pantherlily a tour of the esteemed mansion of the Heartfilia's Lucy was outside making her to the fountain in the center of her mother's flower gardens.

* * *

"I'm coming Aquarius. I'm nearly there. The place where it all began for us. The place where mama introduced us for the first time. I can't wait to see you again. I know that the others have been keeping you informed of what's been going on with me, but I can't wait to tell you myself. I've grown so much stronger since the last time you saw me. I hope that you'll be proud of me Aquarius.", the blonde said as she pushed herself to go even faster.

A few seconds later, Lucy reached the beautifully ornate fountain. The normally bubbling fountain was still; no water shooting out of the ornate figure that topped it. This intrigued the blonde Celestial mage as she approached the fountain, looking for any glint from the golden key for the mermaid spirit that she was so sure would be there and thinking; ' _That's odd. I was certain that her key would be here. And why is the fountain not running?_ '. As if a light-bulb went off in her head the blonde mage looked up to the statue, more precisely where the water should have been spraying from, and it was there that she saw the glint of gold.

"Now all I gotta do is get it. But how?", the blonde mused as she looked around for anything that would help her reach the key. "Whelp. Looks like I'm climbing. Mama would be so mad at me for climbing the fountain, but there's no other way to get Aquarius' key.", the Celestial mage said as she stepped into the fountain base and studied the statue for the best way of climbing it without falling and hurting herself. Determining the best way of scaling the statue the blonde carefully started climbing the fountain statue. Once she was within reach of where the golden key rested the blonde mage secured herself to the statue with her whip and reached her hand out as far as she could, but was just short as the tips of her fingers barely brushed the handle of the Zodiac spirit's key.

"Dammit. I'm so close. I just need a couple more inches and I can grab the key.", the blonde grunted in frustration.

Readjusting her holds on the statue, the Celestial mage climbed a little higher in hopes of being able to reach the key belonging to her oldest, and first, friend- the Celestial Zodiac water-bearing mermaid spirit, Aquarius. Once the blonde was as high as she could safely climb she stretched out her hand to attempt to grasp the key and remove it from the fountain's spigot that it nestled in.

"Almost. Almost. I got it!", the blonde triumphantly said as her hand firmly gripped the golden Zodiac key. But as she pulled the key from its resting place she began to fall. "AHHHHHH! SOMEONE HELP ME!", she shouted to the heavens, praying that someone would hear her and come to her rescue before she could hit the base of the fountain; and with her luck she would hit head first.

Suddenly, her rapid descent was halted as the blonde felt strong muscular arms cradling her petite body to an equally muscular chest. Cracking her eye open to see who had come to her aid, the blonde Celestial mage was not the least bit surprised to see that she was in the arms of her faithful lion Zodiac spirit, Loke.

"I've got you, _Princess_. But why didn't you just call me to help you get Aquarius' key? Or why didn't you have that poisonous dragon of yours come with you? You know that she wants to meet him.". the spiky orange-haired spirit said as he continued to hold his key holder securely in his arms.

"You can put me down now, Loke. And the reasons that I didn't call you to help me get the key is because I needed to do get it on my own. And the reason that Erik isn't here right now is because I wanted to talk with Aquarius alone before I introduced the two of them.", the blonde-haired mage calmly explained as the leader of the Celestial Zodiac spirits set her down on the rim of the fountain.

"I get that you wanted to get it on your own, Lucy. I really do. But that doesn't mean that you couldn't have called me sooner. I would have gladly let you stand on my shoulders to retrieve the key without you nearly breaking your neck.", the orange-maned spirit said as he sat beside his key holder. "Heck, I bet _Snake-boy_ would've let you stand on his shoulders to reach the key. Or he woulda just spewed some sort of acid at the base of the statue to melt it down to where you could've easily reached the key without hurting yourself.", he said further.

"Yeah. I suppose you're right Loke. I guess I should have called you when I couldn't figure out any other way of getting to the key without climbing up to it. But why did it have to be all the way up there? Why couldn't it have been down here in the pool?", Lucy confessed, while griping about where the key had been.

"I don't know, _Princess_. Whenever a key is reborn in the human world its location varies. You should just count your lucky stars that Aquarius' key was reborn somewhere familiar to the both of you, and somewhere close, because it coulda been reborn on the other side of Earthland.", Loke quipped, before standing and straightening his suit and tie. "Now, if you'll excuse me you had better summon her, and I really don't want to be anywhere nearby when you do. So, I'll see ya later, _Princess_.", he said as he bowed and kissed the back of her hand before disappearing in a bright flash of golden light and a puff of orange sparkly smoke.

"Loke, you coward. But you're right. I should be thankful that her key was here of all places.", the blonde said as her cowardly lion spirit dissipated back to the **Celestial Realm**.

Back inside the mansion, Capricorn stopped as he felt his blonde-haired key holders distress, and the two Dragon Slayers heard her scream for help. Both men promptly turned and bolted as fast as they could for the flower gardens to help the petite blonde while quietly saying: " _Bunny-girl!_ " and " _Starshine!_ ". Once out in the gardens the two Dragon Slayers quickly followed the unique scent of the blonde-haired Celestial mage. Upon nearing the source of the scent, the two men stopped as, with their enhanced sense of hearing, they heard the blonde speaking.

* * *

"Alright. Time to do this. Just please don't try to kill me, Aquarius. I've already nearly died once today just trying to retrieve your key.", the blonde said as she smilingly looked at the golden key in her hands before firmly grasping it and sticking the end in the now flowing water of the fountain. " **Open! Gate of the Water-bearer! AQUARIUS!** ", the Celestial mage shouted.

The ground and air shook, then there was a blinding flash of whitish-blue light, a puff of aqua-blue smoke mixed with golden sparkles. When the Celestial mage, and the two Dragon Slayers who were hiding just out of sight, opened their eyes it was to see a busty light blue-haired, blue tailed mermaid; three piercings on her tail, a golden armlet and bracelet on each arm, a golden belt around her waist, light blue crystal earrings, and a dark blue tattoo resembling the Aquarius zodiac symbol resting right under her collarbone. In her hand, resting against her hip, is a large silver urn.

"Tch. Took you long enough, _brat_!", the mermaid spirit growled as she hefted the urn over her head, before bringing it back down and placing it on the edge of the fountain next to the blonde-haired woman, and floating over to take a seat. "The Celestial King asked me to be a little kinder to you should you have been the one to find my key. He was also the one who allowed me to write that letter to you with a clue as to where you could find my key. So, I'm not going to drown you; at least not unless you really piss me off.", the blue-haired mermaid said further after sitting down next to the shaking, and crying, blonde.

"What did I tell you about sniveling? I said to stop it or I'd give you something to snivel about! But this once I'll forego punishing you because I know you can't help it, you're just too happy to see me again; though I don't know why- I can't stand your ass.", the spirit griped,

"I really am so happy to see again, Aquarius, even if you still hate me. You were my first friend, and my only link to mama after she passed. You were the one to comfort me and give me " _the talk_ " when I reached puberty, making you more than just my friend; you were like a mother to me when I really needed one. Breaking your key was the hardest thing I ever had to do. I felt like I not only let you down, but I let mama down. I love you so much, Aquarius. And I've missed you every single day. Promise that you'll never leave me. You leaving was like losing mama; it hurt so much.", the blonde cried as she launched herself at the mermaid spirit and hugged her tightly, the stubby handle with the mark of the Aquarius zodiac on it strung on a thin gold chain falling out of her shirt.

The blue-haired mermaid spirit was taken aback by the blonde woman's actions and confession. The water-bearer couldn't believe that this young woman now clinging to her felt and thought that way. And she certainly never expected to see the nub of what was once her key hanging from around the blonde woman's neck; highly polished. It warmed her heart, and brought tears to her pupil-less blue eyes.

"Shh. It's okay Lucy. I'm here. I don't plan on leaving you again, my _Little Water-bug_. You didn't let me down that day. And you most certainly didn't let your dear mother down. So, you get that out of your head right now. If anything, I was proud of you that day. You fought so fiercely against insurmountable odds. I know that your mother would have been so proud of how hard you were fighting, and she certainly wouldn't have been angry or ashamed of you for sacrificing my key to summon the king and save your friends; your family.", the mermaid said comfortingly as tears trickled from her eyes.

"Y-you were proud of me? But I wasn't strong enough to not to have to sacrifice you, Ackie. If I had been strong like mama I wouldn't have had to sacrifice you.", the blonde sniffled.

"Yes, I was proud of you. I still am. You were fighting three of Zeref's demons at the same time, and you managed to summon three Zodiac Celestial spirits and supply us with enough magic to fight without passing out while fighting yourself. Not even your mother, or any other Celestial mage in the long history of Celestial magic, could do that. And remember when you saved that pesky lion? It's because of that the Celestial King favors you so. And I've heard all about how you can use Star-dress now. That's something that no Celestial mage has been able to do in over 500 years. And I can sense how much stronger you've gotten my _Little_ _Water-bug_. It's because of all of that that I wanted you to be the one to find my key; and not just because you made a promise to me that you would find it.", the bluenette spirit said, still comforting the sniveling blonde.

Now it was the blonde Celestial mages turn to be taken aback. Never is her wildest dreams did she think that the normally ill-tempered mermaid spirit would say such things; especially about her. Most times the blue-haired spirit would admonish her, try to drown her, then tell her not to call for a while because she was going away on a romantic getaway with her boyfriend, and then tell her to get a boyfriend before disappearing back to the **Celestial Realm**.

"In your letter hinting at where I could find your key you said that our contract would be the same as it was. I want to make one small change. I want to be able to call on you to come train me in your Star-dress. Of all my Star-dresses I'm weakest in yours. I want to get stronger in it, so please allow this one change to our contract, Ackie?", the petite blonde said, looking up at the mermaid spirit's face pleadingly.

"Tch. Fine. I can't have you weakly using my magic, now can I? I'll train you, but on my schedule. Got it, _brat_?", the mermaid said menacingly, but with a motherly smile on her face.

"Okay, Aquarius. I look forward to training in your magic. Juvia has done her best to help me to learn basic control, but I know that under your expert tutelage I'll get stronger.", the blonde mage cheerfully said, a smile on her lips and a flaming determination glistening in her eyes where tears once were.

"Good. Now, tell me about this boyfriend of yours that I've been hearing so much about. I thought that he would be here considering I told the pink-haired idiot maid to tell you I wanted to meet him.", the mermaid said as she resettled herself into a more comfortable position to hear all the juicy gossip that she has missed out on.

"I know that you want to meet him, Aquarius, but I wanted to be alone when I summoned you after retrieving your key because there was so much that I needed to say to you in private. But he is close by. He probably heard me screaming for help when I fell, so I wouldn't be surprised if he is out here in the garden right now. And I just have to call out to him with my soul, and he'll come.", the blonde admitted fearing the spirit's wrath for being disobeyed.

"Tch. Alright, _brat_. Tell me all about the man that's captured your heart? And don't you dare leave anything out or I'll drown you, got it?", the ill-tempered spirit said.

"I will, but I wanted to personally catch you up on everything else that's been going on first.", the Celestial mage said. "For starters, you remember Juvia? Well her and Gray are dating. And Natsu, Natsu is with Mira's little sister, Lisanna, now so he isn't sneaking into my bed at night anymore. And speaking of Mira; her and Laxus are together now. And my best friend Levy; well she finally got Gajeel to admit that he loves her, and he did it in front of the whole guild. It was so cute how embarrassed he got; his face was redder than Erza's hair. Erza is finally making some headway with her childhood love, Jellal. Besides coming here to get your key, I came here so that Jellal's guild, Crime Sorciere, could move in and use this place as their official headquarters; but mama's rooms and mine are off limits because I don't want anyone in mama's rooms, and I definitely don't want anyone in mine. My boyfriend, Erik, he's a member of Crime Sorciere. Oh, and I finally finished my novel and got it published; I even won an award for it. And after Zeref and Acnologia were finally defeated I met Anna Heartfilia. I'm sure you know who she is? Apparently, her and Zeref teamed up over 400 years ago to send 5 Dragon Slayers forward in time through the Eclipse Gate, and it was mama who opened the gate in this time, substituting her life force for your key- But I don't blame you or Grammi, because mama opened the gate so that I wouldn't be burdened with opening it, and because she did I eventually met one of my best friends and the person who introduced me to the family that I always wanted; Natsu. But speaking of Grammi, I haven't seen or heard from Brandish since she let Natsu and I go during the war. I do hope that she is doing well.", the blonde said rapidly.

"But enough about all of that. What I know you really want to hear about is my boyfriend; but I don't really know where to start. I guess I could start by telling you how handsome he is. He's got caramel tanned skin- sort of like Scorpio's, and the softest spiky maroon colored hair I've ever seen. And his eyes- well eye since he lost one but as the most delicious looking scar over it- oh my stars his eyes; they are the most beautiful shade of purple ever. And his smile; he's got the most gorgeous dimples ever when he smiles- the sight of them alone is enough to turn my vagina into a waterfall. And he wears simple hoop earrings in his ears that are slightly pointed; kinda like an elf's from one of the fairy tale stories I read as a child- and hopefully will read to my own children some day because I want at least 2 so that they won't know the loneliness that I did. Aside from the scar over his right eye he has more, especially on his back and wrists like he was bound and tortured at some point in his life; but they are so sexy on him. He's the Poison Dragon Slayer, but Dragon Slaying isn't his only magic; he can hear souls and know what people are thinking: Soul Listening magic- which will undoubtedly translate to him being magnificent in bed.", Lucy dreamily continued, while describing her boyfriend to the mermaid spirit that she views as a second mother.

"Well, he definitely sounds handsome. And that Soul Listening magic will definitely help in the bedroom. But you left some things out, _brat_ , like his personality, how big he is, and the most important thing; how good he is in the sack. So, spill it!", the mermaid admonished.

"Aqua-Aquarius. You know that I made a promise to mama that I wouldn't do _that_ until I was married, and that I would only marry for love.", the blonde-haired mage embarrassingly stuttered.

"As for his personality; Erik's a lot like you, very crass and ill-tempered- except to me. He makes the cutest sounds when I run my fingers through his hair, brush the tips of his ears, or kiss the scar over his eye. And I will never tell you how big his penis is, just like you would never tell me how big Scorpio is; not that I'd ever ask that.", the young woman replied.

"HA! HA! HA! You've definitely grown _brat_ if you've got the nerve to tell me "No". So, this guy's like me, huh? Now I really can't wait to meet. Go ahead and call him out here, _brat_.", the bluenette laughed.

Before Lucy could call out to her boyfriend, Erik of Crime Sorciere, the flowering hedges on the other side of the fountain mysteriously disappeared; or if one looked closer they would notice that the hedges had shrunk to no more than 2 inches tall. Then there came a loud shout of, "MASTER!", to which the spirit and mage both turned in the direction it had come from. What they say rushing towards them was a tall woman with short green hair in a bob with bangs cut above her eyes, along with two, blue cross-shaped objects attached to the sides of her head like horns. She also wears gold cross-shaped earrings. Her standard style of dress shows off the front of her body. She wears something akin to that of a burgundy swimsuit showing her huge bust and a golden fancy coat with purple-indented flower patterns across its design, along with blue fur around the collar. In addition, she wears a gold choker around her neck with chains attached to it, running across her back in a T-shaped pattern. She completes her outfit with a pair of dark-brown high heels with purple nail polish coat on her toenails. The greenette woman launched herself at the mermaid Zodiac spirit, and cried.

" _Master_! It's been so long, _Master_. I've looked everywhere for your new key, Master. I was on my way to see _Blondie_ to see if she had any leads on where your new key might be, and was inexplicably drawn here. When I arrived, I heard you talking, _Master._ I'm so happy that you have returned.", the green-haired woman sobbed.

"Tch. I don't know who's the bigger cry-baby; you or the _brat_ over there, _Runt_. So, stop your sniveling; you're getting snot all over my boobs.", the mermaid spirit admonished the greenette.

"Br-Brandish? Where have you been? And did you say that you've been looking for Aquarius' key?", the stunned blonde stutteringly asked the now named green-haired woman.

"Oh? You're here? Then you must have been the one to find the _Master's_ key and summon her? Now, that you've summoned _Master_ , your work is done. You may go. _Master_ and I have a lot to catch up on.", the greenette said in a bored and dismissive tone to the blonde-haired Celestial mage.

"Tch! You insolent _runt_! I am the only one who gives the _brat_ orders! Now, fix the hedges, or I'll drown you along with the _brat_!", the now irate spirit commanded; smacking the greenette upside her head.

"Y-yes, _Master_. At once, _Master_.", the green-haired woman fearfully said as she waved a hand towards the shrunken hedges causing them to return to normal.

"That's better. Your dear mothers wanted for the two of you to become the bestest of friends; so be nice to each other or else! _Runt_ , we can catch up later, but you interrupted as the _brat_ was about to call for her boyfriend to come out so that I can meet him.", the bluenette spirit said.

"Y-yes, _Master_. I'm sorry. I will try to be friendlier to her, as it was my mother's wish that we be friends.", Brandish said, fearful of incurring the water-bearing Zodiac spirit's wrath. The spirit nodded, and turned to her, once again, key holder.

"Alright, _brat_. Call out to your boyfriend. And tell him to get here quickly; I've got a date with _my_ boyfriend later, and I need to get back so that I can get ready.", the mermaid said.

"I'm already here, _Starshine_. I've been here since that _Playboy_ lion spirit of yours went home. The _Rust-bucket_ was here too, but he got embarrassed when you told the _fish-lady_ here about his love confession to _little blue_ and stomped off back inside to find her.", a spiky maroon-haired man said to the blonde-haired Celestial mage as he stepped out from behind a hedge where he had been sitting and listening since he rushed to help the blonde when she fell earlier.

He walked up to the petite blonde and placed an arm over her shoulders pulling her to his side, and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. As he was moving towards the blonde-haired Celestial mage he could hear the rampant thoughts emanating from the two other women nearby; ' _Did he just call her "Starshine"? That is so cute, and aptly appropriate.'_ , being one of their collective thoughts. The other being, ' _Damn! He is sexy._ '.

Both women had further thoughts on his "sexiness". The thoughts of the mermaid spirit being, ' _But not as sexy as my Scorpio. But still, the brat did good. And she was right, that scar over his eye is dead sexy. But if he hurts her I'll drown him._ '.

The thoughts that the green-haired woman had were; ' _Why does she get this sexy piece of man meat and the Master? It's just not fair. I bet he's got a big rod, and if not then I can just make it bigger. She really doesn't deserve a man as fucking sexy as him. Oh GODS! He smirked at me. Those dimples make him even sexier. My pussy is drooling so bad that I wouldn't be surprised if he can see my juices running down my legs._ '.

Cobra couldn't help but to chuckle and smirk at the thoughts he was hearing from the blue-haired mermaid spirit and the mysterious green-haired woman. And he definitely couldn't help but to smell the greenette's arousal; it smelled almost as good as his girlfriend's. And as he thought about it, the mystery woman's scent was also close to his mate's; almost as if they are sisters, which was something he was gleaning from the spirit's soul.

"Um, Aquarius, Brandish. This is my boyfriend and mate, Cobra. He's the Poison Dragon Slayer, and he also uses Soul Listening magic.", the blonde said as she snaked her arms around the Slayer's waist.

"Shit! I forgot that you said he could hear souls, _brat_. But I thought you said his name was Er…", the Celestial spirit said before getting cut-off by the man she had just been introduced to.

"Only she gets to use my given name, _Big Blue; a_ nd that's only when we're alone. Otherwise my name is, "Cobra". And yeah, I can hear souls. And I heard some interesting shit coming from yours. Shit that pertains to _Starshine_ and _Big green_.", Cobra said.

The blonde and greenette looked between Cobra and the spirit, trying to understand what information the water-bearing spirit has that pertains to them. Before either of them could voice their confusion, the spirit began speaking.

"Tch. Fine. It's probably about time the two of you know more of the truth about your mothers.", the spirit began. "As you already know they were good friends. But what I didn't show you was that their friendship was much deeper. They were in fact lovers, along with Layla's husband, Jude. After you were born, _brat_ , your mother learned that she would never be able to have more children. That's where your mother comes into all of this, _runt_. As the three of them had been lovers for quite some time, she offered to bear more children for them. Thus, you were conceived, _runt_. But then things changed and your mother left the estate before you born, _runt_. Layla had given her my key, so I was there when you were born just like I had been for when the _brat_ was. And don't even bother asking me what changed, because I really don't know. Layla and Grammi never confided in me about it. So, that makes the two of you sisters, with _brat_ being the older by eleven months.", the mermaid finished.

The news that their mothers were lovers was shocking to the two young women, but not as shocking as the revelation that they are in fact sisters with a common father. No one spoke for quite some time after the mermaid Celestial spirit had dropped that info-bomb. Cobra just stood there, rubbing soothing circles on his blonde-haired girlfriend's back.

"I'll leave you to soak-up that information, and you can talk about it later. Right now, I have to go get ready for my date with my boyfriend, Scorpio.", the spirit said, breaking the silence that had fallen.

"Oi. _Big Blue_. Tell your beau that I said "Hi.". And don't to worry about _Starshine_ here. I'll take good care of her.", Cobra said to the spirit before she disappeared back to her own world.

* * *

"You good there, _Starshine Princess_?", Cobra said as he moved his petite blonde girlfriend back over to the fountain to sit on the edge again placing himself between, the now revealed, sisters.

"It's a lot to take in.", the blonde confessed, still dazed at learning that her parents had a relationship with another woman, and that that woman had given birth to a child she had conceived with her father, and that that sister had once tried to kill her and was now sitting within arm's reach of her.

"What about you, Brandish? How are you doing?", the blonde asked her estranged sister.

"I-I nev-never kn-knew wh-who m-my fa-father wa-was. Mo-mother nev-never t-told m-me.", the green-haired woman cried as she turned and wrapped her arms around the man sitting beside her and continued crying on his shoulder.

The blonde woman on his other side also clung to him sobbing, and all he could think was; ' _Me and my fucking mouth! I should have just kept quiet about hearing that shit._ '. He maneuvered his other arm so that he was also holding the crying green-haired woman, who is his mate's sister, and comforting her as well.

Eventually, the now revealed and reunited sisters' tears died down. The man between them continuing his efforts to comfort them, though he was way out of his depth because he knew shit about comforting crying people; most times he was the reason they were crying. But his draconian instincts were telling him that this is what he needed to do; not just for his mate, but also for his mate's sister- she's going to be family from now on after all.

The blonde wiped her damp eyes, and tear streaked face, and looked to her sister and asked; "Brandish? Would you like to stay here, in OUR family's home? Even if it is just for the night?".

"Th-this is OUR family's home?", Brandish asked. As she wiped the tears from her eyes and face she finally took a good look at her surroundings. She noticed the lavish gardens they were currently sitting in, and the large mansion just beyond, and was awestruck.

"Huh. This is where I grew up. And if things hadn't changed between our mothers and father, you would have grown-up here too. I was going to let Cobra and his guild use the place as their guildhall, but now that I know I have a sister I'm not sure that I can unless you also agree.", Lucy replied. "Maybe, if you were wanting to stay here in Fiore so that we can get to know each other better, you could join their guild. All of them are working towards redeeming themselves for the evils they've wrought on the world in the past; even though they've been forgiven, and with Royal pardons too. Basically, they are a guild built on making a new start, and would be perfect for you.", she mused.

"Hmm. I'll stay, _Big Sis_. I really don't care if Cobra and his guild use this place as their guildhall. And I think I will stay here in Fiore so that we can get better acquainted. But I don't know about joining his guild. Would they even accept me? I was a member of the Spriggan 12, and served Emperor Zeref and Alvarez, after all.", Brandish said after thinking about her sister's offer.

"Like _Starshine_ said; we're all a bunch of fuck-ups trying our best to make amends for the horrible shit we did in the past. And if you're serious about atoning for the shit you've done, then you'll fit right in. It won't hurt to ask _Blueberry_ about joining. And if he says "No", just shrink him and stuff him in your tits till he says "Yes"; which should take about all of five seconds given how uptight and prudish he is.", Cobra chuckled, which earned a giggle from his girlfriend and her sister.

" _Cobie_ , don't talk, or think, about sticking things, or people, in my sister's breasts.", the blonde woman admonished her boyfriend with a playful smack to his rock-hard chest.

"Kinda hard not to, _Sugar-tits_ , when she's got them pressed so far against me that they're practically jumping out for me to see. And if you knew what she's been thinking you'd be more shocked than if you got hit by _Sparky's_ lightning. She wants to make my cock even bigger than it is.", Cobra quipped causing both women to blush slightly.

"Now, if you two are done crying we should probably get back inside before the others come looking for us. Besides, we gotta decide what rooms we're sleeping in; even though I know that I'm sleeping in whatever room you are, _Sugar_.", the Poison Dragon Slayer said; changing the subject of discussion.

"You're right, _Baby_. We should get back to the others; though I'm sure Gajeel told them that I was having a heart to heart with Aquarius so they probably won't come looking for a while. And as for where we will be sleeping; we'll sleep in my old room. All three of us. I want to spend as much time with my _baby sister_ as possible; plus, it wouldn't be the first time that we've seen each other naked considering the first time we met we took a bath together until she tried to kill me. But it was all a huge misunderstanding, and I've forgiven you, Brandish.", the blonde said as she reached across her boyfriend to place a hand on her sister's arm.

The three mages stood up from their spot on the garden's fountain edge, and made their way to the mansion; the two well-endowed women clinging to the maroon-haired man, his arms wrapped around them both. As they walked, a bit awkwardly, back to the mansion the blonde telepathically communicated to one of her spirits inside the mansion to take hers and her boyfriend's bags up to her bed chambers. Once inside, the petite busty blonde guided her boyfriend and equally busty sister up to her former chambers; pointing out various things to her sister, and explaining that her room, her mother's study, and their father's chambers are off limits to the others. After several minutes, the trio reached the blonde's childhood bed chambers, and as she reached for the handle the door opened revealing her humanoid goat spirit.

"Ah. Lady Lucy. I have just placed yours and Mr. Cobra's things in your rooms. All of your other guests have chosen rooms on the other side of the mansion, and are awaiting you in the main parlor.", the spirit said with a bow.

"Thank you, Capricorn. Please inform them that we shall be down shortly, and that I'm bringing another guest; but do not tell them who. And also, please inform Virgo of the addition? After that you may return to the **Celestial Realm**.", the buxom blonde requested of her butler-like spirit.

"Of course, Lady Lucy. I will see to it immediately. And welcome home, Lady Brandish.", the goat spirit said with another bow before disappearing in a puff of whitish-gold smoke to carry out the task given him by his key holder.

"Ho-how did he know who I am?", the busty green-haired beauty questioned; unsure if she had met the spirit at some point during the war when she was a part of the Spriggan 12, and stunned by the title the Celestial spirit had bestowed on her.

"He knows you because like _Big Blue Mama_ he knew of the relationship between your mother, father, and _Starshine's_ mother. He also, regrettably, served the man who killed your mother. He was also taken over by that cock-stain until _Starshine's_ lion kicked his ass. At least that was what gleamed from his soul.", the Soul Listening mage said as he wrapped his arm tighter around the green-haired beauty at his side, while placing a gentle kiss to the top of her head, and then doing the same to the blonde on his other side and walking into the room- kicking the door closed and thanking whatever deity it was that granted him the privilege of being in the company of these two beautiful, big knockered, wide hipped, bubble-butted sisters.

* * *

 **Alright, my lovelies. I know that I've kept you all waiting for this; and for that I am truly sorry. But there was a certain direction I was shooting for; I don't think that I hit my mark though. But I wanted to get the Lucy/Aquarius reunion in here, and then I had the idea of bringing in my favorite Spriggan 12 member, Brandish, and having Aquarius reveal that Brandish and Lucy are actually sisters with the same father and that their mothers had also been lovers; because I really like the idea that Lucy and Brandish are estranged sisters. I didn't want to keep you all waiting any longer than I have, which is why I'm ending things here. Next chapter, "Hollow", will be done in 2 parts, so PLEASE be patient, as it will be written from Cobra and Lucy's perspectives and will primarily be flashbacks. But fear not my little duckies, I will be continuing this later, because I got some really hot smut planned. ;)** **So, until next posting; take care and: STAY GOLD.**

 **On a side note; I will be going on vacation for 3 weeks, but I will be working on finishing up CoLu Week 2017 while I'm gone. The reason for my vacation is because a theater near a relative of mine is going to be showing "Fairy Tail: Dragon Cry" on the 19** **th** **in English Dub. I've already got my ticket too. But don't worry, I won't leak any spoilers, but it may impact my stories in the future.**


	7. Chapter 7: Hollow Part 1: Cobra

**Hello, my Fairy Freaks. I hope that you all enjoyed, "Endearment". Anyways, here's "Hollow". Now as I said at the end of the last chapter this will be done in 2 parts; Cobra and Lucy, and will be flashbacks depicting the hollowness inside of them. This first part will focus primarily on Cobra. With that said, I'll let you get on to reading.**

 **Disclaimer: I wish that I owned Fairy Tail, but sadly I don't; Hiro Mashima own it.**

 **WARNING: May contain Manga Spoilers. Read at your own discretion.**

* * *

 **Hollow Part 1: Cobra**

After freshening up and unpacking Cobra, his girlfriend, Lucy Heartfilia, and her recently estranged sister, Brandish Mu went down to the main parlor where Capricorn had informed them that the other guests to the esteemed **Heartfilia Konzern** were awaiting them; save for Midnight who was still comatose from his nosebleed earlier after getting a face-full of the Zodiac Celestial maid spirit's, Virgo, scantily covered apple-shaped rear and resting in one of the many bed chambers in the mansion. Lucy explained to the group of mages that she had recently been clued into the location of Aquarius' new key, which prompted a lot of questions; especially from her blue-haired bookworm friend and Solid Script mage, Levy McGarden. Lucy told them that she was not yet ready to go into why Aquarius has a new key or why she and Brandish had both been searching for it. The bluenette was not happy with that answer, but let it slide not wanting to pressure her friend and jeopardize their friendship. Lucy then explained that she learned from Aquarius that she and Brandish are actually sisters, which prompted more questions; again, especially from her petite blue-haired friend, to which Lucy simply answered saying that it was best that they not know the details as they are quite shocking. After Lucy had finished her explanations Virgo arrived to announce that dinner was ready and would be served in the grand formal dining room shortly.

The small group of ten mages and one Exceed made their way to the dining room where they were treated to the most delectable and delicious meal- more like a banquet feast fit for royalty- and enjoyed more pleasant conversations. Levy was excitedly talking about the sheer size of the two libraries that she had seen on the tour of the mansion, and how she couldn't wait to get her hands on the many leather-bound tomes and begin reading, and copying for later personal leisurely perusing, them. Lucy couldn't help but to giggle at her friend's enthusiasm, while Levy's mate, the Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox, could only sigh in exasperation.

After everyone had eaten their fill Virgo returned to clean up, and everyone went to do their own thing. Levy and the black Exceed, Pantherlily, along with a reluctant Gajeel headed off to one of the accessible libraries; Hot-eye and Racer retreated to the Men's Parlor/Game room; Angel and Meredy went off to further explore the mansion that is now going to be the home of their guild; while Jellal Fernandes, the Guild Master of Crime Sorciere, Cobra, Lucy, and Brandish went to the study where Lucy and Brandish's father conducted his business from and would now be where Jellal conducted official Guild Master's business.

Upon entering the opulent study Lucy forced Jellal to sit in the high-back leather desk chair situated behind the large ornate polished mahogany desk in front of the massive windows overlooking the front gardens and entrance of the mansion. Cobra took a seat on the luxurious brown leather couch, Brandish taking a seat in one of the high-back brown leather chairs in front of the desk, and Lucy taking the other.

"Get used to sitting there, _Blueberry_ , because once we're an officially recognized guild you're gonna be spending a lot of hours going over all the bullshit that the Magic Council sends ya.", Cobra darkly chuckled at the misery his Guild Master was going to be experiencing with legitimately dealing with those geezers on the Magic Council. The glorious irony of it all is that Jellal, or rather his alter ego/persona, Seigrain, once served on the Council along with the other founding member of Crime Sorciere, the late Ultear Milkovich.

Jellal bashed his head on the top of the desk, remembering the headache of dealing with the bureaucracy. "Don't remind me.", he muttered before lifting his head to look at Lucy. "Lucy, how does Master Makarov do it? How does he deal with the Council?", he asked her.

"The short answer; he drinks, a lot. The long answer; the day I joined he held a stack of complaints from the Council, lit them on fire, and tossed them to Natsu. But since we reformed, and after the war, Laxus and I have been tackling most of the paperwork. Master helps, but he wants Laxus to learn from experience so that he can retire; permanently unlike when he passed the title to Gildarts after we came back from Tenroujima Island- that lasted for all of five seconds because Gildarts simply reinstated Laxus, then retired and named Master the Master again. The only reason I help out with the paperwork is because I was taught to be able to do that sort of thing, begrudgingly. It also helps that I have such close personal ties to the crown so the Council has tended to overlook Fairy Tail recently." Lucy explained.

(Back at the Fairy Tail Guild, Master Makarov and his grandson, Laxus, are sequestered away in the office by orders of the _She-demon_ , Mirajane Strauss, and _Titania_ , Erza Scarlet, catching up on paperwork. "That damn brat better hurry-up and get her cute little butt back here, because I don't wanna be here doing this GOD-forsaken paperwork.", the short bald-headed Guild Master spoke. "Tough shit, Gramps. _Blondie_ , won't be back until she's got Crime Sorciere settled in at her family's place. So, quit yer bitchin', and get back to work be the _Demon_ or _Titania_ come in here and make ya.", Laxus grumbled as he continued working on the copious amounts of paperwork that the Magic Council had recently sent to the guild. The tiny Guild Master gulped out of fear and went back to work on his stack of paperwork before him. He would be lying if he said that he wasn't afraid of the two women who were forcing him to actually do his job, even though he is the Guild's Master and one of the 10 Wizard Saints. In his head he thought, ' _Hurry home Lucy. You're the only one who truly understands this gobbledygook._ '. On the other side of the large double desk, Laxus was having the same thoughts as his grandfather. While down at the bar in the main beer-hall, Mira glared in the direction of the office her dragon mate and his grandfather were and muttered; "They better quit slacking off or else.". The two men felt a cold shiver of fear run down their spines as they trudged on with the paperwork. "NATSU! You know that you are not allowed to leave the guild except if you're accompanied by a member other than Happy; per Master's, Laxus', Lucy's, Erza's, and my orders.", Mira scolded the pink-haired Fire Dragon Slayer who had been attempting, once again, to sneak out of the guildhall. Said mage scampered back to the table his white-haired mate, Lisanna Strauss, sat at with their adopted son, a blue Exceed named, Happy. Natsu pouted and muttered, "I just wanted to go check-up on _Luce_ , because I don't trust that poison-spitter.".)

After convincing Jellal to accept Brandish into his guild- which took all of two seconds after hearing the threat of being shrunken down to 2 inches tall and stuffed into the busty green-haired woman's top- Brandish had received her guild mark signifying that she is an official member of Crime Sorciere; Lucy, Cobra, and Brandish left the Guild Master in his new office to get on with filling out the required paperwork to be filed with the Magic Council to make Crime Sorciere a legally recognized guild, and retired to their room.

Upon reaching the room, and after a bath- Brandish using her magic to enlarge the tub so that the three of them could all get in together- the three mages went to bed; Lucy on one side of Cobra, and Brandish one the other; all three of them as naked as the day they were born, and Lucy and Brandish both tracing random patterns on Cobra's muscular chest and 8-pack abs. Cobra was purring contentedly, not even caring that that was what he was doing because he honestly didn't give a rat's flying hairy ass because it was **_his_** mate, for the most part, was causing him to do it, and staring up at the glow-in the dark star sticker covered ceiling thinking back on his life and how empty it had been up until recently and how he could have gotten so lucky to be in the same bed as the _beautifully angelic_ buxom blonde on his left where he could clearly see her that one day will be his mate, his wife, and the mother of his children, and her equally beautiful and busty green-haired sister. He must have done something exceptionally good in a past life to be this goddamn lucky right now, because he certainly hasn't had the best luck in this life, nor has he been all that good; in short Cobra's life was downright shitty, and he was an evil sadistic mass murdering bastard. In fact, up until one Lucy Heartfilia literally stumbled her way into his life two days ago Cobra has always felt a hollowness on this inside; a pitch-black nothingness that greatly resembled his heart and soul. But Lucy. Lucy brightened up the dark hollowness within him; and he would forever be grateful.

* * *

 ** _FLASHBACK_**

 _Cobra, or Erik as he was known then, began his life in that "Hell-hole" known as "The Tower of Heaven"; a gloomy and looming tower designed by the darkest mage in all of history, Zeref, whose sole purpose was to resurrect the dead. It was being constructed by slaves; the majority being children that were abducted from their homes, and oversaw by a group of cultists who worshiped the dark mage and wished to use the tower to resurrect him and plunge the world into darkness. But Erik wasn't one of the poor unfortunates that were abducted and brought to the tower and forced to slave away building it. No, Erik was even more unfortunate; he had been born in that accursed place. His mother had only been 13 years old female slave. One of the cultists had taken a liking to the young girl; he was a bit of a pedophile with a preference for young girls. He had subjected her into repeated and brutal forced sexual situations; none of the other cultists caring that he was sexually abusing a slave. She had learned that if she complied and was complacent that she would be treated slightly better, so that is what she did. When the leader of the cult learned that she was with child he pulled her off of construction, and placed her with the other young women who were pregnant and the children who were too young to actually work; babies and toddlers. There she was treated better; given more rations to sustain her and her growing fetus, and most importantly, she was protected from the sexual abuse that led to her being pregnant at the tender age of 13._

 _She gave birth to a healthy son, who had a tuft of brownish-hair and vivid violet purple eyes. The leader of the cult of Zeref worshipers sensed great magical potential emanating from the baby boy. The girl was allowed to stay with her son until he was old enough to begin working like all the other slaves. But now that she was no longer with child she was once again subjected to repeated, and often brutal, sex with the cultist who had forced himself upon her and impregnated he; sometimes other cultist would join in. These forced sex sessions would sometimes even take place in front of her precious son, Erik._

 _Then one day before Erik's 5_ _th_ _birthday he watched as his mother was repeatedly and brutally sexually assaulted, the sheer brutality was enough to cause her death before the man abusing her battered vagina could finish; though that didn't stop him from ejaculating into the girl's dead body. Afterwards, her dead body had been tossed into the murky waters that surrounded the island the tower was being constructed on, and young Erik was placed in General Population to begin his life as a slave constructing the tower. After that Erik was exposed to repeated and brutal beatings from the cultists, especially the one who had sired him; there were even weeks where Erik would receive no rations, including water._

 _The day that his mother died was the day that a dark emptiness took-up residence in his soul. That dark hollowness continued to grow and become darker with each passing day. But the one day when Erik was around 8 years old a new batch of slaves were brought in. A small group, 3 boys and 1 girl, of children were placed in the same cell as Erik. Erik befriended the new children, and they looked out for each other; the times when Erik had been refused his allotment of rations his new friends would sneak his some of theirs, and Erik was grateful for it. The dark hollowness within his being lightened, even if just slightly_

 _When he was about 10 a small purple snake with a white belly and acid-green eyes found its way through a crack in the bricks of his cell. Erik was actually happy for the first time since before his mother's death. He cared deeply for the little snake, taking it everywhere with him and keeping it safe, warm, and hidden inside the rags he wore. It was also around this time that the torturous beatings he received primarily from the man who had fathered him ended. It was during one of his torture sessions that the little purple snake slithered out of Erik's rags and bit the man, poisoning him. The other cultists were baffled as to how their fellow member died, but the leader figured it out but never said a word to anyone because he had a fondness for Erik._

 _When Erik was about to turn 11, he and his 4 friends, and his pet snake whom Erik had named "Cubellious", were sent away from the tower and placed in the care of a white-haired man named "Brain". There was still a dark nothingness that was slowly consuming Erik, but he ignored it for the most part. The group of children thought that their days of being beaten were all over and that this man, "Brain", would return them to their homes, but they were sadly mistaken._

 _"_ _Brain" forced them to work even harder than they did in the tower, but it was a different kind of work; "Brain" forced them to train in magic and physical combat. But Erik was still given worse treatment than his friends; "Brain" had strapped him to a metal table and cut him open starting just below the hollow of his throat to his bellybutton and shoved an egg shaped purple Lacrima roughly the size of Erik's little fist into the incision without any anesthesia and stitched the opening closed. But that was when the truly painful part began for Erik. Erik howled in pain for three straight days, his body burning up making him feel like he was dying from being burned from the inside out. He also under went other changes; his teeth elongating becoming pointed and more fang-like, his hair going from the brownish hair took on a reddish-purple hue, and the tips of his ears became elongated becoming pointed just like his teeth. Erik also noticed that his senses were heightened, and the incision on his front healed without leaving a scar, and his young muscles felt even bigger than before._

 _But during all of that time Erik had been separated from his friends, and more importantly, he had been separated from Cubellious; and that really ticked him off. It pissed him to the point where he wanted to brutally murder the man that had separated him from her; Erik had learned the Cubellious was a girl snake. The dark hollowness inside him grew exponentially in those three days._

 _After the three days of torturous pain and isolation Erik was reunited with his friends, if he could even call them that anymore considering none of them bothered to look for him; and most importantly to Erik anyways, he was reunited with Cubellious. Sorano, or "Angel" as she was now to be called, told Erik that she asked about him every day but was told to mind her business and focus on her training, and when she wasn't training she had cared for Cubellious who dearly missed him. "Angel" wasn't the only one given a new name; Macbeth became "Midnight", Sawyer became "Racer, Richard became "Hot-eye", and Erik was now "Cobra". His name was on account of the new magic that he had gained from the Lacrima that had been surgically forced into his body; the Lacrima had come from a Dragon and contained its essence and magic._

 _Because of the Dragon Lacrima "Cobra" was now completely immune to all forms of poisons, including Cubellious' venom, and because of this he was forced to consume copious quantities of poisons, toxins, and venom. He was also forced to learn about the dragon magic he now wielded; Dragon Slayer magic, though that part wasn't that bad. But the training in his new magic was bad; "Cobra" was forced to combat his "friends" with his Poison Dragon attacks, and some part of him didn't really want to hurt them. But if didn't he was chained up using special chains that cancelled out magic and severely beaten._

 _When "Cobra" turned 13 "Angel", who had started having blood appear in her underwear about a month prior and had started developing breasts, was curious about sex- something she had learned about in a book- and asked him if he knew about sex. Of course, "Cobra" knew about sex, even if it was the brutal and unfeeling kind that he had witnessed many times happening to his mother. So, when "Cobra" said that he did, and that he knew how it was done "Angel" asked him if would show her. He had also read the same book that "Angel" had on sex, and knew that what he knew was completely different from what was in that book; but he knew that if had sex with her the way that he knew how it would hurt her like it had hurt his mother, and even if he was becoming an uncaring asshole because of the dark hollowness that was ever-present in his soul he didn't want to put her through that kind of pain. But "Angel" wouldn't let her curiosity be deterred, and told "Cobra" that he can consider having sex with her his birthday present from her; that got "Cobra" to agree but he decided that he would do it the way he had read in the book so as to not to hurt this pretty girl who is a friend. Plus, with his natural, or so he had learned, magic ability to hear people's souls he knew that this was something that she really wanted to do with him._

 _So, with it decided that they would have sex the two 13-year-old teens snuck away from the compound where they now lived and trained. It was several hours before anyone even noticed that "Cobra" and "Angel" were missing. "Brain" had been so furious at the pair for running off that when he found them laying together naked on a blanket and covered by another he placed them in the magic cancelling restraints and drag them, literally, back to the compound. "Brain" then chained them up, still naked, and beat them while encouraging the others to do the same. "Cobra" was as furious as an enraged dragon at what was happening to "Angel"; he never could stand seeing girls getting beaten after witnessing everything that his mother was subjected to, and this made the nothingness inside him to grow even more. After "Cobra" and "Angel" had been beaten for three consecutive days for leaving the compound without authorization, and for having sex, "Brain" had all of them taking for a surgical procedure; the boys would receive_ _ **Vasectomies**_ _and "Angel" would get a_ _ **Tubal ligation**_ _so that way if any of them decided to have sex in the future there would be no chance of pregnancies occurring. Before the doctor who they had been brought to perform the procedures could get started on "Cobra" he unleashed a purplish mist of deadly poison that killed everyone in the operating room because they had carelessly removed his magic cancelling restraints._

 _"_ _Cobra" broke the restraints that secured him to the operating table and stood in the middle of the carnage that he had caused, laughing manically, taking it all in; it was the first time he had ever used his newfound Poison Dragon Slayer magic to kill, and damn did he like how it felt as he stared at the now lifeless bodies, 5 in total, of the people who dared to attempt to cut him open, again, and he reveled in it. He felt a great amount of satisfaction in what he did, coldly murdering these "people"; he had heard the thoughts in their souls. None of them cared that they were hurting children- teenagers- and taking away their chances of having children and families of their own one day; they only cared about the exuberant amount of Jewels they were getting paid to do it and keep it all quiet, especially from the Magic Council. One of them had even thought that it was a damn shame about tying the sliver-haired girl tubes because she would be a really beauty in a few years, and he would've like to have gotten a chance to "tap that ass" beforehand, but oh well maybe he'd get to tap her sweet little cunt after she had recovered. That had really set "Cobra" off as it reminded him of his mother and the way that "bastard" and the other cultists thought of her._

 _But the thought of "Angel" being treated the same way as his mother made him remember that she and the others were also in this place, and had been operated on under orders from "Brain"; he swore that one day "Brain" would join these pathetic cretines in death for taking away her future, their futures. After that he followed his nose as he tracked his friends by their scents. He found them in the adjacent rooms to the one he had been in, still knocked out from the anesthesia. He carried them outside before going back in and spilling flammable and poisonous chemicals all over the place, and striking a match that he had found, set the building ablaze. He watched with a wicked gleam in his violet-purple eyes and a sinister smile upon his face as the building and the deceased occupants burned away to ashes._

 _When "Cobra", because he didn't think he could ever go by the name he'd been given at birth after what he had just done and strangely enjoyed, returned to where he had left the others after getting them out of the clinic, or whatever it was, before he went and set it on fire found that "Hot-eye" was waking up._

 _""_ _Cobra", where are we?", "Hot-eye" had asked as he sat up on the ground only dressed in a gown that was open in the back. "What happened?", he had asked when he noticed the burning building behind "Cobra"._

 _"_ _I woke up in that building to the smell of smoke, and went looking for you guys. You were all knocked out. I carried you all out, but when I went back to find anyone else the place was burning brightly.", "Cobra" lied smoothly. "But we should get the fuck outta here. The fire is bound to attract attention, and they'd no fucking doubt blame us for it.", "Cobra" added._

 _"_ _Hot-eye" quickly agreed that it would be for the best that they got away from there before someone came and could lay the blame on them. When he went to stand he felt pain in his groin, and his legs felt like lead weights._

 _""_ _Cobra", what really happened to us in there? My groin hurts, and my leg feel heavy.", "Hot-eye" said as he tried to rub the heaviness out of his legs. "And where the hell are my clothes!?", he exclaimed after finally realizing that he was practically naked, save for the gown he was wearing._

 _"_ _How the fuck should I know why you junk hurts!? As for what happened I can only guess that they did something to us in there, like an operation or something because the room I woke up in, and the rooms I found your ass in had all this surgical stuff in 'em. And I didn't have time to find your clothes. I barely had time to find my own. Now shut yer fucking ass up and help me get these guys outta here!", "Cobra" growled as he hefted "Racer" onto his back before carefully lifting "Angel" in his arms._

 _"_ _Hot-eye" ignored the pain and heaviness he felt and effortlessly lifted "Midnight" off the ground, and followed "Cobra" farther away from the burning building, not even thinking it odd that he hadn't heard anyone who might have been trapped inside screaming._

 _After that day "Cobra" killed many more people, slowly descending further into darkness. Some he had been ordered by "Brain" to eliminate, and others he did simply because he wanted to; especially those he had caught abusing women and children, and slavers- he really fucking hated people like that. "Brain" had been the wiser to the fact that "Cobra" hadn't gotten his nuts cut, or that he had been the one to murder the lab staff and torch the place; and "Cobra" liked that, because he hadn't forgotten the promise he made to slowly and painfully murder "Brain" for the shit he had put them through._

 _Also after that day "Cobra" had researched what "Brain" had had done to them, and found that was reversible, though he had yet to tell the others what had been done to them. He and "Angel" did have sex again after that, with anyone; in fact, none of them did, except "Racer". "Racer" had been out on a mission and decided that he wanted to finally get laid, so he did. They were all about 18 at that point in time._

 _In the year x784, "Brain" filled them in on the brilliant plan he had to take over the world. The plan was to find, and use, an ancient magic weapon known as "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _". "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _" would cause all the "goody-goody" people to turn and kill each other; the whole world would be turned on its ear as a result, and they, the "Oracion Seis" as they were now known as, would be the rulers of this new world that they would usher in. In short, "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _" would bring about utter chaos. "Brain" had also told them that through "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _" their prayers, their own true and deepest desires, would be answered. "Cobra" only wished to be able to hear his closest friends, Cubellious, thoughts. He could hear the melody that her soul played; it was quite beautiful in his opinion, and often lulled him to sleep at night._

 _During their search for the ancient weapon that would allow to take over the world, and answer their prayers, "Cobra", with his Soul Listening magic, had picked up on the plans of some of the "Light" guilds, because the Oracion Seis was classified as a "Dark" guild on account of the fact that they killed people and other not so nice things, to stop the Oracion Seis from finding and using "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _". "Cobra" chuckled darkly at the thought of theses "goody-goodies" stopping them; he'd kill anyone that got in his way, or pissed him off in general, and "Brain" was still at the top of his list of people he wanted to kill for the shit he's pulled. When "Brain" had taken them from the tower he'd said that they were "free"; that was complete bullshit because he treated them as slaves, and kept them confined most of the time._

 _The Seis were close to finding "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _", they had tracked its whereabouts to the_ _ **Worth Woodsea**_ _. Meanwhile a coalition of mages from various legal guilds had gathered nearby to strategize how best to take down the Oracion Seis, and prevent them from finding, and using, "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _". "Angel", who had learned Celestial magic, sent her Zodiac Celestial spirit, Gemini who specializes in Copy Magic, to infiltrate the meeting and learn the "Allied Light Guilds Force" plans. After learning their plans," Angel" subdued one of the "light" mages, and with the help of Gemini, took out another who was one of the strongest of the gathered mages before rejoining the Oracion Seis and confronting the rest of the "goody-goodies"._

 _It was when the Oracion Seis confronted the rest of the "Allied Light Guilds Force" that "Cobra" heard the tune of a soul that was so beautiful that he actually made him want to weep; something he had never done in his life, even when he was being tortured, or watching his mother being tortured. But before he could attempt to pinpoint whose soul held that beautiful melody he was attacked, but easily dodged and Cubellious sunk her poisonous fangs into the person who had attacked; that person being Erza "Titania" Scarlet of Fairy Tail. The rest of the "light" mages were also quickly and easily defeated, but the melody of that soul intensified with a burning determination, and that greatly intrigued "Cobra"; he really wanted to find out whose soul it was because it made him feel "whole", like the empty blackhole inside of him had been filled with a bright shining light. But once again, before he could determine whose soul was making that beautiful music "Brain" had ordered that they retreat for the time being and refocus on locating "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _". But that didn't stop "Cobra" from listening to, and enjoying that beautiful soul. It had filled him with "happy-happy joy-joy" feelings, and GODS-fucking dammit he wanted to know who it belonged to._

 _Thanks to the little blue-haired girl that "Brain" had taken hostage using her healing magic, a branch of Dragon Slayer magic, on a blue-haired guy named, Jellal, that was comatose they now knew where "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _" was, and had begun its activation. All the while the "light" mages fought with members of Oracion Seis, and their subordinate guilds, but that soul with the beautiful melody was crescendoing in determination. "Cobra" swore that whoever has that soul had beaten "Angel", given that "Angel" soul was near it; and whoever it is used an immense amount of magic. Now "Cobra" definitely wanted to find out who that soul belongs to, because if they could defeat "Angel" and use that much magic they gotta be one badass motherfucker; and if it was dude, "Cobra" would kill 'em for beating "Angel", even if she acts like a complete bitch most of the time, because you just didn't get away with beating women when he was around._

 _Eventually, the cute little blue-haired Dragon Slayer, a recently healed Erza, a half-naked Ice user, a pink-haired, fire-spewing moron who is also a Dragon Slayer, a fucking ugly ass troll-looking midget whose chin looks like balls, that Jellal guy, and a busty blonde had breached "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _". The beautiful soul that has captivated "Cobra" was among them. "Cobra" knew that 4 of the mages were from Fairy Tail, the little blue-haired girl was from the guild that "_ _ **NIRVANA**_ _" was headed towards, and the fucking ugly ass troll-looking perfume wearing fucker was from some other guild that had to do with a mythical horse with wings, a "Pegasus" if "Cobra" bothered to recall from some book that he had read that had shit to do with magic or culture._

 _But again before "Cobra" could pinpoint who the soul belonged to the pink-haired fire-freak and his ('Is that fucking flying, talking blue cat', Cobra thought) flea-ridden blue fur-ball attacked him. Oh, "Cobra" was gonna have himself some fucking fun; he was sick and fucking tired of getting attacked before he could figure who the fuck owned that soul with the melody that made him feel like the world wasn't the shitbox that he had started thinking it was._

 _Unfortunately for "Cobra" the fire fucker unleashed a dragon size roar right in his fucking ear, knocking his ass out fucking cold. When "Cobra" came to, he was being led away by the Magic Council's Magic Enforcement Unit Rune Knights in magic cancelling cuffs, and Cubellious was missing. He prayed to whatever deity would even fucking listen that she was okay. But what really sucked was that he couldn't hear that beautiful soul anymore because of these GODS-forsaken cuffs on his wrists; GODS did he hate these fucking things, especially since he had worn something similar since birth. But aside from not being able to hear that beautiful soul, "Cobra" had a massive fucking headache thanks to that pink-haired imbecile._

 _As the Council goons loaded him into the back a containment carriage, "Cobra", saw a battered and bruised "Angel", a totally messed up "Racer" who looked like he'd been blown-the-fuck-up, an unconscious "Midnight", and equally comatose "Brain" who no longer sported the_ _ **Body-link**_ _lines on his face meaning that his other personality, "Zero", had been released; "Zero" was the only reason that "Cobra" hadn't murdered "Brain" yet; the guy scared the fuck out of him._

 _Before the doors to the carriage were closed, "Cobra", could hear the "Light" mages arguing over "Hot-eye", whom they were calling "Richard", also being arrested. But "Hot-eye" waved them down, and said that he must pay for the crimes that he had committed so that one day he can honorably look his brother in the face; seeing his long-lost brother had been "Hot-eye" prayer, and thanks to some of the "Light" mages he now knew that his brother was alive and well and travelling the world._

 _As "Hot-eye" was being loaded, "Cobra", heard the "Light" mages protesting that Jellal guy's arrest, apparently due to his coma he had lost all of his memories including his memories of being a slave in that fucking tower; GODS "Cobra" wished that he could completely forget that fucking shit-hole too, but right now he would settle for the ringing in his fucking head to stop. Eventually Jellal, with the help of Erza, got the others to calm the fuck down, and he was loaded into the mobile prison._

 _They had all received lengthy prison sentences. Less than a year into their sentences someone had broken Jellal out, or at least that was what "Cobra" had heard from the guards who came to feed him about once a week; he was being kept in complete isolation on account of his Soul Listening magic, and he wasn't allowed any poisons because they would increase his strength- not that he really needed any since his body was converting the Carbon-dioxide in the air into magic energy for him; it was the only thing keeping him alive between the measly meals he would get. The only things that kept "Cobra" from going completely bat-shit fucking crazy was the memories of Cubellious' soul, and the soul that played the beautiful melody that he now realized he abso-fucking-lutely loved; the only clues he had as to owns that soul are: they're a Fairy, and it sure as fuck ain't that pink-haired flame fucker, other than that he had nothing to go on._

 _About a month into their 6_ _th_ _year in prison the Oracion Seis broke the fuck outta that shit-box of a prison. They spent the first month properly eating and coming up with a new plan to bring mass chaos upon the fucked-up world; it involved murdering a shit ton of Celestial mages who were the key to unlocking an ancient magic item, and human sacrifice. At some point "Cobra" sacrificed his right eye in order to obtain new powers, and now has a long scar traversing it. He had also picked up on the unique song of Cubellious' soul, which made him happy as fuck to know that she was still alive, but sadly he couldn't pick-up the soul with the most beautiful melody that makes him want to weep like a little bitch; he'd made the mistake of mentioning it to "Angel" after they broke out, and she scoffed at him calling him a fucking pussy. "Cobra" had planned to tell her and the others what "Brain" had done to them when they were 13-years-old, but after that shit he'll just keep that bit of information to himself; but he did hear from her soul that he looked even hotter with the scar over his eye, and how she wanted him to fuck her long and hard, because finger fucking herself for the last 6 years didn't really cut it. If he had taken "Angel" up on the offer he would've been no better than those fucking bastards back in the tower that brutally fucked his mother in front of him, because of how much she had pissed him off with mocking him about that soul that sounds more beautiful that a choir of fucking angels._

 _Not being able to hear that soul infuriated him to no fucking end. It had made him more ruthless, and less caring; the hollow emptiness within him returning full force. It wasn't until some months later, in the year x791, that "Cobra" finally heard the beautiful song that he'd been longing for. He'd learned that in x784 several key members of Fairy Tail had gone missing: Fairy Tail's Master, "Titania", and that pink-haired fire fucker chief among them; or at least those were the ones who he knew. But given that he could now hear that soul again made "Cobra" think that whoever has that soul had also disappeared in x784._

 _"_ _Cobra", and the Neo-Oracion Seis, fully implemented to bring about utter chaos by unleashing the "REAL NIGHTMARE" using a magic item, "_ _ **INFINITY CLOCK**_ _". The pieces of the clock had been scattered and sealed using_ _ **Organic Link Magic**_ _. The Neo-Oracion Seis had unlocked and gathered all but one piece to the "_ _ **INFINITY CLOCK**_ _"; the last piece was in the hands of Fairy Tail's Celestial Mage, whom they intended to use as the sacrifice to unleash the "REAL NIGHTMARE"._

 _Unfortunately, Fairy Tail thwarted their plans once again. "Cobra" got hammered, literally, into the ground by the red-haired "demon" weapon master_ _ **Requip**_ _mage of Fairy Tail; Erza Scarlet. The pain "Cobra" felt from getting hit by a giant fucking hammer, and impacting the ground, was more intense than the pain he felt when he received the Dragon Lacrima. As "Cobra" laid there in the crater he created when he impacted the ground he wished for death to take him; the crater he rested in was deep enough that all someone had to do was cover him with dirt and he would be buried._

 _After the Neo-Oracion Seis was defeated, and the "_ _ **INFINITY CLOCK**_ _" imploded, they were rounded up and carted off to prison, again. But before "Cobra" was restrained with those infernal Magic Cancelling Shackles he heard that beautiful soul, and Cubellious' soul, one last time. But "Cobra" still had no idea who possessed that glorious soul that he loved listening to so much._

 _"_ _Cobra" was once again placed in Solitary Confinement, with the guards only checking on him about once a week when they brought him his meals; this time with a little poison. But he did get regular visits from a Lieutenant of the Magic Council Magic Enforcement Rune Knight Squad, Doranbolt. Doranbolt wasn't an uptight asshole like the other Rune Knights; he actually gave a fuck about their prisoners, and checked up on them regularly. During Dornabolt's visits with "Cobra" they would take, well Doranbolt would talk and "Cobra" would just sit there and listen giving the occasional grunt of acknowledgment._

 _Several months passed, and "Cobra" had learned from Doranbolt that the "Grand Magic Games" were happening once again; the games had started being held annually about 6 years ago with the intention of determining the "Strongest Guild in Fiore", in the past it had been known as "The Dragon King Festival" but that was hundreds of years ago._

 _It was on what "Cobra" knew to be the last day of the "Grand Magic Games" that Doranbolt suddenly appeared outside his cell. Doranbolt explained to "Cobra" that dragons, actual fucking dragons, were rampaging in_ _ **Crocus**_ _, the capitol city of the Kingdom of Fiore, and that him being a Dragon Slayer was best suited for combating the raging beasts. Doranbolt also offered "Cobra" to have time taken off his sentence should he decide to go and help deal with the dragons; "Cobra" would've been a complete moron to refuse such a tempting offer, plus he would be able to hear Cubellious' soul, and that magnificently beautiful soul whose melody had been keeping him somewhat sane. So, of course he agreed, but he acted like he was going to refuse; he didn't want this Council fuckwad stooge to know that he had ulterior motives for going to what might just be his end, because that would have been stupid._

 _Doranbolt used his magic,_ _ **Direct Line Teleportation**_ _, to transport himself and "Cobra" to the outskirts of_ _ **Crocus**_ _. Once the Magic Cancelling restraints were removed, "Cobra" took in the sounds of the chaos that the dragons were wreaking; it was music to his ears and the dark hollowness of his soul. But above the noise of the chaos "Cobra" could hear the two souls that he had been hoping to hear again; Cubellious was moving away from the city, while the other was somewhere deep in the heart of the city._

 _"_ _Cobra" would be lying if said he wasn't a little excited at the prospect of fighting, even if his opponent was a massive 60-ton monster with razor sharp teeth and claws. Oh, he was definitely excited. He was finally going to see if his Dragon Slayer magic lived up to its name; it should be a cake walk, right? With that thought in mind "Cobra" set out to fight the nearest dragon._

 _After several minutes of battling a dragon "Cobra" came to the realization that it wasn't gonna be as easy as he thought; it was harder. He hadn't even made a scratch on the dragon's hardened scaly ass. And from the sounds of it, the other Dragon Slayers weren't fairing so well either; even the little blue-haired girl was giving it her all but that wasn't enough. The only Dragon Slayer who seemed to be having any fun was that pink-haired fire-farter from Fairy Tail; he was laughing manically while riding on the back of a dragon that looked to have a body made completely of fire._

 _At one point "Cobra" had a sense of déjà vu as one minute he been crushed under the giant clawed foot of the dragon he was facing, and then, almost as if time had rewound, he wasn't. When the dragon moved to crush him to death "Cobra" rolled out of the way, and countered only to get smacked in the chest by the beast's tree-like tail which sent him flying clear out of the city._

 _As "Cobra" laid there thinking about how much that tail slap hurt- it hurt worse than that fucking hammering he took from "Titania" a few months ago- he heard the sweet melody of Cubellious' soul approaching him. As he looked in the direction that the soul was coming from, expecting to see his long-lost snake, he was shocked to see a beautiful purple-haired woman in a greenish dress, and some amazing looking tits, standing there. But there was no mistaking the song that this woman's soul was playing, it was Cubellious' soul song._

 _Between stints in prison, "Cobra" had reached out to Cubellious in an attempt to locate her and have her return to him; luckily Cubellious hadn't sought him out because he would have lost her again when he was re-arrested._

 _The woman stared at "Cobra" curiously for a moment before she said; "I feel like I know you somehow. Are you the one who has been calling out to me?". This shocked "Cobra" as he listened closer to her soul, and wracked his brain, to see if he could pick-up on the memories of the two of them, but he got nothing. That kinda disappointed "Cobra". But he did learn that this beautiful busty purple-haired woman had no memories of her life prior to x784, other than her name, and that she had been living, and working, at Fairy Tail since; everyone there was so nice, and very understanding of her unfortunate condition but didn't treat any differently because of it- they treated her like family. That actually made "Cobra" happy. If she had no memories, and was living a happy life with Fairy Tail, then the Magic Council had no reason to go after her, so "Cobra" didn't say anything at first; he just listened to her soul, and how happy she is. There was no way in fucking hell he was going to tell this happy, smiling woman the truth about her past. Instead he just said:_

 _"_ _Yeah. You knew me, once, a long time ago. But it's best if you don't know the past; just look to the future, and keep smiling because you have a beautiful smile.". She smiled and blushed at his comment. 'Damn did she look cute like that', "Cobra" thought. "Can you at least tell me your name?", she asked. "Cobra" was shocked that she would ask him for his name, and he thought about not telling her but then thought better of it._

 _He could hear the Rune Knights approaching; no doubt to take him back to prison. At some point the fighting had ended; the dragons were gone, almost like they had never been there. As the Rune Knights neared "Cobra" quietly said, "Erik". That was it, but the purple-haired beauty understood. He doesn't even really know why he's told her his given name, but he didn't care because even if she didn't remember him he wanted her to know him by that name because she had been one of first, and closest, friends so that entitled her to know it. "Kinana", she quietly said back to him, and he understood the meaning._

 _When the Rune Knights moved in to take him back into custody, one of them had roughly shoved Kinana aside to get at him to place the Magic Cancelling Restraints on him. That had made "Cobra" growl in anger; he may be a mass-murdering sociopathic psycho but it still infuriated him to no end to see women get treated roughly. Doranbolt at least had the decency to stop and help Kinana to her feet after she had been rudely, and roughly, knocked down. Doranbolt had even asked if she was alright, and told her that the reason "Cobra" was being arrested was because he is a prisoner who had been temporarily released to deal with the dragons; somehow Doranbolt had known that she was affiliated with Fairy Tail, who apparently had won the "Grand Magic Games" and led the charge against the dragons._

 _Before "Cobra" was placed in the shackles he heard that beautiful soul again, and he had heard something else; something sinister, but "Cobra" didn't get much time to dwell on that before the shackles were locked into place on his wrists and ankles. But from what "Cobra" had heard of the sinister thoughts he knew that he might be able to leverage the information to get him and the rest of the Seis out of prison._

 _After he had been returned to his prison cell "Cobra" had told Doranbolt that while he was out fighting the dragons he had heard something interesting, and that he would share this information on one condition: the immediate release of the Oracion Seis. Doranbolt said that he would see what he could do. But it came as no surprise to "Cobra" when Doranbolt returned some time later that his offer had been flatly refused; not only by those old fossils on the Magic Council, but also by Dornabolt's direct superior, a tight-ass Captain by the name of; Lahar. No, what did surprise "Cobra" was that when the dragons were destroying_ _ **Crocus**_ _, Lahar had been adamantly opposed to "Cobra" being released to assist, but all of the "Light" guilds, and the fucking King of Fiore, demanded his release, even temporarily, with the entirety of Fairy Tail being the most vocal; which Doranbolt was more than happy to comply with. "Cobra" couldn't for the fucking life of him understand why they would do that; especially Fairy Tail. It just didn't make sense to the Poison Dragon Slayer. It was lunacy, and he would know because he was a fucking lunatic himself. But then again, Fairy Tail was chockful of lunatics; especially that fucking pink-haired flame-licker moron- he was crazier than "Cobra", but on the opposite end of the "Crazy Spectrum"._

 _Some time passed, and "Cobra" was lazily lounging in his cell, when he could clearly hear explosions coming from above him, even though his cell blocked his Soul Listening magic, and even with his enhanced Dragon Slayer hearing he couldn't hear anything more than a few feet from his cell; the fuckers had specifically built the cell with people like him in mind. He knew that the prison he was in was located directly under the Magic Council's main Headquarters. "Cobra" also knew precisely what was going on; it was exactly what he had heard when he was let out to fight dragons: Tartaros, the last remaining guild in the once powerful Dark Guild League- the Balam Alliance._

 _From what little "Cobra" remembered about Tartaros, they were a guild of demons from the "Books of Zeref". The explosions from upstairs rocked the prison block, causing cracks to form in the bricks that comprised the cells. Because of this "Cobra" was able to hear a whole lot more; but sadly, there really wasn't much to hear- it was as if everyone up there had died. "Cobra" saw this as his opportunity to escape, but not before he rounded up the other members of the Seis._

 _So, after "Cobra" had freed "Angel", "Hoteye", "Midnight", and "Racer"- the last time they had escaped "Midnight" murdered "Brain", surprisingly- they quickly got as fucking far away from that hell-hole as possible. They traveled around for a while before "Cobra" picked up on the sounds of vaguely familiar souls; Jellal, and the little pink-haired girl from Grimoire Heart if "Cobra" was not mistaken. He'd heard their souls amongst the chaos in_ _ **Crocus**_ _when the dragons were attacking, but there was something off with the melodies of their souls; they were more melancholy, especially the pink-haired girl's._

 _The members of the Oracion Seis, cautiously, approached the duo. Jellal explained to them that his Independent Guild, Crime Sorciere that he had founded with Ultear and Meredy, was all about eradicating Dark Guilds and anyone with connections to Zeref; it was their way of atoning for the evil deeds of their pasts. Jellal had asked them to join and atone for their "sins". "Cobra" really didn't give a flying fuck about that kinda shit; as far as he was concerned it was fucking pointless, and a complete fucking waste of his time. But "Midnight" thought it was a great fucking idea, especially if he got to be close to the busty pinkette; he'd had a small crush on her since the first time he saw her at one of the few meetings of the Balam Alliance, and seeing her all grown up went straight to his libido- too bad for him that even if he did get in the pinkette's panties he wouldn't get the babies that he was fantasizing about having with her on account of "Brain" had had him "Neutered" when he was 13, a fact that "Midnight" and the others were still painfully unaware of. The others were just as indifferent as "Cobra" about joining up with the fucking "Blueberry"; "Hoteye" and "Angel" just really wanted to go in search of their long-lost siblings, while "Racer" didn't care one way or the other because he's just end up going along with "Hoteye._

 _Jellal made them a proposition; if he beat all of them singlehandedly then they would join him, but if even one of them could defeat him then they could do as they pleased and any of them still wished to join could. So, they fought and Jellal trounced them all, even "Cobra". So, in accordance with the terms of the agreement the former Oracion Seis members joined Crime Sorciere; but in all fairness, not that he gave a fuck about fairness, "Cobra" had been slightly distracted listening to the beautiful so that he was so enraptured with, and Cubellious/Kinana's soul. During the fight Jellal had blinded himself so the Midnight's_ _ **Nightmare**_ _magic wouldn't affect him. So, after the fight he had the members of the Seis were treating their injuries Jellal asked them all for their names, their real names. They told him, but demanded not to be called by those names outside of the guild; except for "Cobra", he still wished to be known as "Cobra" no matter what- there was currently only one person who he would allow to use his real name. Jellal and Meredy were amiable to the request._

 _After their injuries were treated, and proper introductions were given, Jellal said that they need to make haste to_ _ **Magnolia**_ _because Fairy Tail was under attack from Tartaros. That gave Cobra reason to falter in his stride; he hoped with everything he was that Cubellious/Kinana and whoever had the soul whose tune was more fucking beautiful than a choir of fucking angels would be alright until he got there._

 _Cobra focused on the two souls in Fairy Tail that he actually gave a fuck about as Crime Sorciere made their way to_ _ **Magnolia**_ _. As they got closer to_ _ **Magnolia**_ _, the notes of the beautiful soul dramatically changed; the song was very melancholy and way off key. Cobra knew that that meant something had happened to the person to make them sad; something devastating, and it pained Cobra to no end. Kinana's soul was also a bit melancholy. Cobra wanted nothing more than to get there and find out what had happened to cause them to become so sad, so that he could beat, or kill, whatever, or whoever, had caused their sadness; their souls had always been so bright and happy, they should NEVER be sad._

 _As the small guild of former dark mage criminals neared the outskirts of the once beautiful town of_ _ **Magnolia**_ _all that laid before them was utter destruction. Before they could go further Cobra had picked up on someone approaching them, and judging by the scent that his Dragon Slayer enhanced sense of smell it was that fucking hammer wielding redheaded "demon", Erza "Titania" Scarlet, and just like Kinana and the mystery person's soul hers was playing a melancholy tune._

 _Cobra informed the others of Erza's approach, so they halted and waited for her to come to them. When she did, she looked like she'd been through HELL and back, twice. She told them about the attack, and how their Master had ordered the guild disbanded. She also told them that they needed to turn away quickly because there were Rune Knights everywhere as her Highness, Princess Hisui E. Fiore, had personally come to inspect the damage done by Tartaros. Erza had also told the former criminals that Tartaros was no more; not a single demon survived. She also told them how the dragons who had taught, and raised, all of the First Generation Dragon Slayers had been lying dormant within them until Tartaros attacked and prepared to activate the Magic Council's Anti-Magic weapon,_ _ **FACE**_ _, and how 4 of the dragons destroyed all of_ _ **FACE**_ _while Igneel, the dragon that had taught and raised Natsu, fought the only living dragon: the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, Acnologia, but was ultimately defeated, and now all the dragons are truly gone, and that it would be up to the Dragon Slayers, all of them, to finally defeat Acnologia. Erza had also told them how afterwards Natsu disappeared, and that after announcing the disbanding the Master had also disappeared. She had also told them that the Rune Knight Lieutenant, Doranbolt was actually an undercover mage of Fairy Tail named, Mest Gryder, who had blanked everyone in Fairy Tail's memory of him, along with blanking his own memories so that he could infiltrate the Magic Council, and that it was Mest who had informed every one of the Master's decision to disband the guild before he disappeared._

 _Crime Sorciere left the area of_ _ **Magnolia**_ _, and traveled the continent taking down Dark Guilds, and anyone who had any connection to Zeref. Cobra would occasionally slip away to take out groups of Slavers that he had heard; one time he had run into the Iron Dragon Slayer who was now a Rune Knight for the newly reformed Magic Council who was also after the same group of Slave Traders. Cobra had that the Iron Dragon Slayer was a pretty decent guy since he had let him go after they had taken down the group and recovered the children that had been taken._

 _Whenever Crime Sorciere was near, or in, Fiore Cobra would seek out the souls of the mystery person and Kinana. The mystery person's soul was still very melancholy, but in key; while Kinana's was slightly happier, but not as happy as he knew it once was. Obviously, they were still sad that Fairy Tail was gone. But for the life of him Cobra couldn't figure out why the mystery person was sadder than the rest of Fairy Tail; whatever happened with Tartaros must have been extremely devastating for them._

 _A year after Fairy Tail disbanded Crime Sorciere was in the northern wilds of Fiore. They had heard that someone had used flames to write "Fairy Tail" on the side of the royal palace in_ _ **Crocus**_ _; it was from there that Cobra had been hearing the mystery person's soul over the past year. After the flaming message appeared the mystery person's soul was a little happier, but there were still undercurrents of melancholy laced in the song it played. It was shortly after the flaming message on the side of the palace that Fairy Tail had reformed. There had heard rumors that the Master of Fairy Tail had been seen in Alvarez, and empire on another continent, so some of the members of the newly reformed guild set out for Alvarez to investigate, and bring him back if they proved true. The mystery person was among the group that had gone. Angel had gone to back them up and provide transportation in the magic submersible she had acquired._

 _Shortly after the group from Fairy Tail returned from Alvarez, with their Master, Alvarez attacked Fiore; specifically targeting_ _ **Magnolia**_ _and nearby_ _ **Hargeon**_ _. Leading the armies of the Alvarez Empire were a group of powerful mages known as, The Spriggan 12, and the Emperor himself, who turned out to be none other than the darkest mage in all of history: Zeref._

 _All throughout the war Cobra stayed attuned to the mystery person and Kinana's souls, while maintaining full awareness of his immediate surroundings. Just before the all-out invasion of Fiore by the Alvarez Empire, the mystery person's soul briefly played a happier tune that it had been; that made Cobra strangely happy because hearing that soul had been comforting to him. Cobra especially enjoyed hearing the ferocity of the mystery person's soul when they were engaging in battle; he never got close enough to see who the soul belonged to but he did get close enough to feel the immensity of their magic, and even that was strangely comforting to him._

 _As the war progressed to its climax, the accursed "Black Dragon of the Apocalypse" appeared; unfortunately, no Dragon Slayers had been near where he appeared, and as quickly as he appeared he disappeared. But the "Black Dragon" reappeared around the same time that Zeref's presence disappeared; Cobra later learned that the pink-haired maniac had defeated Zeref with the help of Fairy Tail's First Master who had been cursed like Zeref and encased in a Crystal Lacrima for over a hundred years._

 _A plan had been made to trap the accursed dragon in something called, "The Ravines of Time", but unfortunately that wasn't enough to contain the "Black Dragon"; the fucker ate the magic that constituted "The Ravines of Time" and escaped, hell-bent on destroying every-fucking-thing in the world._

 _After Acnologia escaped "The Ravines of Time" all the Dragon Slayers suddenly disappeared. When Cobra came to he found himself and the other Slayers trapped inside of Lacrimas, and standing before them was none other than "The Black Dragon of the Apocalypse". The Dragon Slayers all busted out of the Lacrimas that had held them, with the pink-haired menace being the first to break free._

 _Once all of the Dragon Slayers were free they stood opposed to the "Black Dragon", and worked in tag-teams to attack him, with the little blue-haired female Dragon Slayer using her support magic branch to enhance all of their abilities, but staying in the rear to use her healing magic in case any of them got hurt. The six male Dragon Slayers threw everything but the kitchen sink at that fucking asshole, Acnologia, but it was getting them nowhere. So, they came up with a different plan; Plan Natsu. All the Dragon Slayers gave what remained of their power to the fucking pink-haired pyromaniac, and in a series of well executed attacks using the combined strength of seven Dragon Slayers the crazy fucker defeated the "Black Dragon of the Apocalypse", who was once a Dragon Slayer but had bathed in the blood of so many dragons, even the blood of the very dragon that had trained him, that he had become a dragon. Acnologia's, who had been in his human form as he faced the seven Dragon Slayers, body dissipated into nothingness. After that the seven Dragon Slayers returned from "The Ravines of Time", and learned that while they face Acnologia in his human form, in the real world his dragon form had run amok, but the other mages had devised a plan, well the blonde-haired Celestial mage of Fairy Tail was the one to come up with it, to trap Acnologia using of the great Fairy spells,_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _. It worked, and after he was trapped his body disintegrated into nothingness._

 _After that Fairy Tail did what they were renowned for; they threw a big ass party for them and all of their allies with gallons of alcohol- a certain brunette in Fairy Tail had laid claim to several barrels of booze just for herself. Cobra, and the rest of Crime Sorciere didn't stay at the party long; opting to eat and run before the military or Rune Knights could show up- Fairy Tail's parties were notorious for having the authorities show up due to several noise and destruction complaints. Cobra had spent a good amount of time trying to locate the person who had the soul that has so enraptured him for nearly a decade, but his efforts were in vain as he wasn't able to pinpoint the person- too many people that the noise was giving him a headache, so he was grateful to Jellal saying that it was time for them to leave._

 _Several months passed, and Crime Sorciere received a Royal Summons. The small Group of former Dark mages/ Escaped Criminals had been skeptical of the invitation thinking that it was some sort of trap to capture them, with the exception of Cobra who already knew what the summons was about but kept it to himself because he liked fucking with his guild mates heads, so they were on their guard when they arrived at the Royal Palace, Mercurius, in the capitol city of the Kingdom of Fiore,_ _ **Crocus**_ _. When the small Independent Guild of 7 mages were led into the Royal Throne Room, they were on their high alert, but greatly relaxed when the King of Fiore, his Royal Majesty, King Toma E. Fiore, accompanied by his daughter, her Royal Highness, Princess Hisui E. Fiore, explained why they had been summoned; the King, along with his daughter, wished to thank them for their actions of maintaining peace throughout the kingdom back taking down many Dark Guilds that threatened the peace and civility of the kingdom, and for their valiant, and in some cases, heroic, efforts during the recent war with Alvarez and Acnologia. As a true symbol of their gratitude his Royal Majesty, at the behest of his daughter, Princess Hisui, granted all of the FULL ROYAL PARDONS, expunging their records so that they wouldn't be bothered by the Magic Council any longer; essentially they were now FREE mages who would never have to worry about the looming threat of being incarcerated ever again- unless they committed crimes that warranted such punishment in the future._

 _The mages of Crime Sorciere were shocked, safe for Cobra who had known all along. Angel and Meredy broke down in tears at the prospect of never to have to look over their shoulder. Jellal was utterly perplexed; he was at a complete loss. Hoteye, Racer, and Midnight were just as perplexed by the turn of events and were bawling alongside Angel and Meredy._

 _Crime Sorciere traveled around the kingdom for three months, never staying in one place for more than a day or two, until one night they had setup their camp in a clearing in the forest outside of the quaint town of_ _ **Magnolia**_ _; they had been invited to attend the town's annual Hanami Festival, and Jellal was scared to refuse as the person extending the invitation was his childhood friend and crush, Erza "Titania" Scarlet of Fairy Tail. The next morning, at what Cobra referred to as "the ass-crack of dawn", Cobra heard that joyful angelic soul approaching their encampment. Cobra slipped out of his tent and hid behind a tree at the edge of the clearing near the direction that the soul was approaching from; he was ecstatic that he was FINALLY going to be able to a face, and maybe a name, to the soul that has captivated him for so long. The person with the captivating angelic soul stumbled through the brush and entered the clearing, and to Cobra's surprise it was none other than the Celestial mage of Fairy Tail; the beautifully radiant and extremely busty Lucy Heartfilia._

 _Lucy had been happy to see Crime Sorciere, but was upset because she had come to that particular spot to train, magically and physically, with her Celestial spirits. After learning that they had been on the move for three months, and that none of them had had a proper bath in that time, Lucy invited the two female members of Crime Sorciere back to her place to bath and do laundry while the guys could make use of the Public Baths at the Fairy Tail Guildhall. She had also invited them to use her family's home as their Guild's Headquarters; something that they would need since they have been asked to change their status from "Independent" to "Legal"._

 _Later that same day Cobra had learned something about his Dragon Slayer magic that he didn't know from the surly Iron Dragon Slayer, Gajeel Redfox, and also involved the blonde-bombshell; Cobra, like the Dragon Slayers who were raised and taught by actual Dragons, also will only ever have one mate- a person that is most precious to him and brings a sense of calm and clarity to his otherwise chaotic life- and that his mate whom he is drawn to, and they are equally drawn to him, is none other than the beautiful blonde with a bodacious rack._

 _After learning that little tidbit and joining the others at the park where the festival was being held, Cobra decided that he would "nut up" and talk to the feisty blonde about this whole "mate" thing. She was surprisingly amiable to the prospect of being with him. The two spent the rest of the festival together, and mostly alone, until Cobra had walked her back to her home where his two gossip-mongering guild mates sat, sleeping, on the doorstep. The petite busty blonde invited Cobra to spend the night._

 _The next morning was, unusual. Lucy had decided to sleep naked stating "that Dragon Slayers have higher than normal body temperatures", and Cobra slept in his boxer briefs while his two female guild mates had slept in just their lacy panties. Cobra had accidentally struck one of Lucy's spirits when he stretched after the spirit had woken them up, and when he told the blonde spitfire about she rolled her naked ass on top of Cobra pinning him beneath her and began smacking him with a pillow; Cobra had no problems with the being pinned beneath the blonde beauty, it was the getting smacked in the face repeatedly by a pillow that he had a problem with- along with being reminded that he and Lucy were not alone at the time. Lucy invited Cobra to join her for a shower, where things got steamier than normal, while the other two women fluttered about Lucy's apartment still in only their panties and prepared breakfast. Breakfast was an extremely unusual affair; Cobra and Lucy sat down wrapped in towels while the other two women were in their panties._

 _After everyone who had slept at Lucy Heartfilia's apartment had showered, eaten, and dressed they joined up with the rest of Crime Sorciere to head to the palatial estate of the Heartfilia's with Lucy acting as their guide. Upon reaching the estate, Lucy had rushed off to locate a Celestial Key for a spirit she had sacrificed some time ago while the others were given a tour of the mansion by one of Lucy's other spirits. During the tour Cobra, and a fellow Dragon Slayer who had also come to the estate so his mate could peruse the vast libraries, rushed off after their enhanced sense of hearing had picked up Lucy's cries for help; the pair of Dragon Slayers arrived only to find that Lucy had been rescued by one of her spirits. They stayed close by and listened as Lucy and her lost spirit reunited; the Iron Dragon Slayer leaving after Lucy mentioned to her spirit about his embarrassing confession to his mate, but Cobra stayed and listened in as he been informed that the spirit was wanting to meet him._

 _During the course of the reunion between mage and spirit another beautiful and busty mage with short green hair appeared. When Cobra stepped forward to meet the spirit he had heard from deep within the spirit's soul that the two women were actually sisters, and after the spirit confirmed this and went back to their world the formerly estranged sisters broke down in tears leaving Cobra to comfort them; something he was not at all comfortable with doing._

 _That night, after the busty green-haired woman had joined Crime Sorciere, Cobra, his petite blonde mate, and her busty green-haired sister retired for the night to the bedroom that the boobalicious blonde had grown up in. And that is how Cobra now found himself naked in bed with his beautiful busty naked blonde girlfriend/mate on one side and her equally beautiful and busty naked green-haired sister on the other, and staring at the glow-in-the-dark star stickers on the ceiling thinking about his life and how it had gotten to the point is was at right now._

 ** _END FLASHBACK_**

* * *

"You alright there, _babe_?", the blonde haired beauty on Cobra's left quietly asked as she traced the muscles of his sculpted 8-pack abs.

* * *

 **This is where I'm ending it, for now. It will be continued in "Hollow Part 2: Lucy". I'm not even sorry about how long this is; over 12000 words with the AN's. But I am sorry with how long it has taken me to get this out to you all. Stay crazy my precious Fairy Freaks.**


	8. Chapter 8: Hollow- Lucy

**Hello my precious little Fairy Freaks. I hope that you all enjoyed "CoLu Week 2017- Hollow Part 1: Cobra", because here is "CoLu Week 2017- Hollow Part 2: Lucy". This entire chapter will depict Lucy's life and the hollowness of it up to her and Cobra beginning their courtship, and picks up where the Part 1 left off. So, enjoy, and on with the show.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I still don't own Fairy Tail, or its amazing characters; Hiro Mashima does.**

 **WARNING: May contain spoilers for the manga. Read at your own discretion.**

* * *

 **Hollow Part 2: Lucy**

"You alright there, _babe_?", Lucy quietly asked her maroon haired Dragon Slayer boyfriend as they laid naked in the bed in the room she grew up in as a child in the Heartfilia mansion with her recently discovered naked busty green-haired sister, Brandish Mu. Lucy was tracing the contours of her boyfriend's, Erik/Cobra, well-defined 8-pack abs, and Cobra, who was staring blankly at the ceiling covered in glow-in-the-dark star shaped stickers, was purring contentedly at the sensation. Erik blinked as he was brought out of his thoughts by Lucy's question before answering.

"Yeah, _Baby-girl_. I was just thinking about how shitty and hollow my life has been up till you stumbled into it 2 days ago.", he whispered with a small chuckle as his slips curled into a soft smile and kissing the top of her pretty blonde head. GODS was Erik happy to be there naked in bed with this Goddess-like blonde woman; and he has to be the luckiest son-of-a-bitch in all of Earthland to also be sharing that same bed with this Goddess-like woman's beautiful sister.

"Maybe you can tell me about it some time. We do have the rest of our lives for that sort of thing after all.", she whispered thoughtfully, looking forward to spending the rest of her life with this drool-worthy man who was occupying her bed, as she placed her plump full lips to his rock-hard pecs and gently kissed his chest. GODS was Lucy happy in that moment. She had finally found the man she would, and very much wants to, spend the rest of her life with and would one day start a family with, and she had her "family"- her guild mates and her Celestial spirits- but now she has a sister she had never known about; a very beautiful, full figured, and well-endowed sister.

But what Erik had said made Lucy think about her own life and how hollow it had been since her mother died. As she started musing about her life Lucy reached across her boyfriend's chest to where her sister laid soundly sleeping pressed firmly to his other side with her green-haired head resting on his shoulder, and adjusted the covers so that her shoulders and large chest were covered.

* * *

 ** _FLASHBACK_**

 _Lucy was a vibrant and precocious blonde haired girl. She was always smiling and happy. Her smile was so bright that it brightened up everyone who saw it day, from the many servants in the mansion in which Lucy lived, to her beautiful mother and handsome father; Lucy's family, the Heartfilia's, were one of the wealthiest families in all the beautiful kingdom of Fiore, and were the proprietors of the many railway lines that crisscrossed the country. Lucy was born brimming with magical abilities, just like her mother. Lucy's mother, Layla Heartfilia, was known as a "Celestial Wizard", meaning that she used magical items, keys, to summon Celestial spirits from their world. Lucy loved spending time with her mother, and her father when he would join them. Her mother often would tell her about the stars, the many constellations, and the spirits that are connected to the Celestial spirits. Lucy would watch in wonder and awe as her mother worked her magic. Lucy wanted nothing more in life than to be just like her mother; she was so beautiful, elegant, magically powerful, and loved by everyone, including her Celestial spirits._

 _Because of her family's wealth Lucy was privately educated in all manners of subjects, including her Celestial Spirit magic; her mother overseeing Lucy's instruction in Celestial magic. But one day, after Lucy's 10th birthday, in the year x777 on the 7th day of the 7th month, Lucy's mother became suddenly ill; the doctors saying that she was suffering from " **Magic Deficiency Disease**_ " (a term that refers to when a Mage is rapidly deprived of their Ethernano, causing them contract an illness.). _Layla Heartfilia's condition was such that no curative could heal her; so about a week after she contracted the illness she died at the tender young age of 29._

 _Lucy spent almost all of her time at her mother's side prior to her death. It was during that time that Lucy had made a promise to her mother that she wouldn't have sex until she was married, and that she would only marry out of love. After her mother died, Lucy's father, Jude Heartfilia, became very despondent and withdrawn. But Lucy continued to smile through the pain of the loss despite the hollow feeling that was growing inside of her, because that is what her mother would have wanted her to do; and because Lucy felt in her heart that that is what her mother would have done too._

 _Lucy tried hard to pull her father out of his despondency, but was met with cold indifference. One particular time that Lucy had approached her father was about a year after her mother's death on her birthday. Lucy had made a Rice Ball with a smiley face on it in an attempt to cheer her father up and hoping that he would stop working and spend some time with her like he used to, but when Lucy went into her father's study to present him the Rice Ball he simply slapped it out of her little hands and yelled at her to leave him be, and that cooking was "servant's work". Lucy ran out of her father's presence with tears streaming down her face from her golden brown eyes. After that Lucy never approached her father unless he summoned her._

 _After Lucy turned 14 her father had begun entertaining potential suitors for her. When Lucy was 16 she had learned that her father was in the process of brokering an arranged marriage, and was going to take away her Celestial Spirit Keys; her Celestial spirits were the only friends that Lucy had. So, with that threat Lucy gathered all that she could pack into some suitcases and a knapsack, a couple hundred thousand Jewel to tied her over until she could make Jewel of her own as a Freelance or Guild mage, and her beloved Celestial Spirit Keys, the last remaining link to her mother and the closest thing to a family she had, and ran away from the only home she had ever known; though after her mother's death had begun feeling less and less like a home and more and more like a prison; the illustrious **Heartfilia Konzern**._

* * *

 _Lucy traveled around for a year; doing odd jobs, both mundane and magical, to earn Jewel, and all the while she collected more Celestial Spirit Keys. During her travels Lucy was genuinely happy for the first time since before her mother passed on. But even then that didn't fill the void in her life that the loss of her mother created; she still felt that empty hollowness inside of her, and she was beginning to think that nothing would ever be able to fill the black hole that was slowly consuming her very soul and being._

 _Sometime after she had turned 17 Lucy was in the quaint and quiet port town of **Hargeon**. She had entered a Magic Shoppe in the hopes of acquiring Celestial Spirit Keys but didn't see much of anything worthwhile, and was disheartened to learn that it was the only shop in town. The old shopkeeper did at least have one Celestial Spirit Key; a Silver Celestial Spirit Key- the Celestial spirits are split into two sets of key; Sliver Keys are the most common, and Gold Keys are rarer and allow the mage to summon the Zodiac Celestial spirits. The particular key that the shopkeeper had was for " **Canis Minor: Nikora** ", also known as "the little dog". Lucy was dumbfounded when she asked the price of the key and was told that it was 20.000 Jewel; she tried to use her "sex appeal", but was only able to get the priced dropped to 19.000 Jewel. Lucy really wanted the key so she begrudgingly paid the 19.000 Jewel for it, and left the shop muttering about having paid that much as it was nearly all the Jewel she had left; but she was elated that she was going to be making a new friend and adding another member to her ever growing "family", because that is how Lucy viewed her spirits- they weren't tools or shields, they were friends and should be treated as such because they are living beings with feelings too after all._

 _Once outside of the shop Lucy heard a commotion nearby, and some girls fawning about someone named "Salamander". Lucy may be a blonde, but she was not dumb as per the stereotype, she had heard about "Salamander" in the Mage's magazine, "Sorcerer's Weekly"; the magazine had said that "Salamander" was a powerful mage of the most powerful guild in all of the Kingdom of Fiore: Fairy Tail, and that he used an extremely rare type of Fire magic that you couldn't buy in stores. Lucy had dreamed of one day joining the illustrious guild of Fairy Tail, and thought that if she met "Salamander" and made a good impression he could help her join Fairy Tail. So, with the thought of meeting such a powerful mage and making a good impression Lucy went to where a crowd had formed, and there in the center was "Salamander"._

 _When Lucy got close enough to see the man she felt strangely drawn to him, like she was in love with him or something. The feeling suddenly went away when she was rudely knocked down by a strange, well to Lucy he was strange because he had spiky salmon-pink hair, man. It was then that she noticed the rings on "Salamander" hand, and figured out the he was using a banned type of magic known as **Charm** ; "Salamander" was nothing but a fraud if he was using such a paltry ruse, most likely in attempts to attract women because he wasn't all that attractive. So, after she stood up and dusted herself off Lucy followed after the pink-haired man that had knocked her down so that she could thank him for releasing the hold that **Charm** had had on her. She found him being stomped on and kicked by a group "fan-girls" because he had refused and autograph from "Salamander"._

 _After the group of "fan-girls" left, Lucy approached the pink-haired man offering him a hand up with a brilliant smile on her face, and she properly thanked him for releasing her from the hold that "Salamander" **Charm** had had on her. After introducing themselves to each other; the pink-haired man's name being, Natsu, and his blue talking feline (a talking cat; that kind of freaked Lucy out) companion named, Happy, Lucy offered to buy them lunch at a nearby restaurant._

 _Lucy quickly regretted the offer after seeing not only Natsu's atrocious table manners, bits food was flying every which way as he ate, and the sheer amount he was eating; it was enough to feed twenty people. But over the course of their lunch Lucy had learned that Natsu had come to **Hargeon** looking for "Salamander", but a different "Salamander". The "Salamander" Natsu was looking for is actually a dragon, and not just any dragon, the dragon that had raised him who went missing July 7th, x777. The date gave Lucy a nagging feeling in the back of her mind, like that date was also important to her but she didn't dwell upon it. Lucy said "good-bye" to Natsu and Happy, paid the exuberant bill, and left, but not before Natsu and Happy embarrassed her by kneeling and bowing to her in an overly-showy sign of gratitude._

 _Later as Lucy was sitting along in a park reading a recent copy of "Sorcerer's Weekly", "fan-girling" over the full-color spread of Fairy Tail mage and Pin-up model, Mirajane Strauss (Lucy might have a "Girl Crush" on the white-haired beauty), and talking aloud about wanting to join Fairy Tail when "Salamander", the farce that he is, jumped out of the nearby bushes. He offered to take her to Fairy Tail and let her join if she would join him for a party on his yacht. Lucy jumped at the offer, completely forgetting about the fact that he had been using **Charm** earlier, and agreed to attend his party later that evening._

 _When Lucy arrived on "Salamander's" yacht she learned that he truly was a big phony. He was actually a Slave Trader, and all the women that he had "invited" to his yacht were going to be taken to the neighboring country of Bosco and sold as sex slaves. He tried using **Sleep** on her t knock her, but Lucy realized what he was up to and began fighting back. Unfortunately, "Salamander" took her Celestial Keys from her and threw them overboard. Lucy thought that all hope of fighting off "Salamander" and goons was lost, but then something crashed through the ceiling and when the dust cleared Lucy was surprised to see Natsu. Natsu shouted to Happy to get Lucy out of there, and it was then that Lucy noticed that Happy had sprouted two Angel-like wings on his back and was flying (now Lucy was really freaked out because not only could Happy- a blue furred cat- talk but apparently he could also fly)._

 _After Happy had gotten Lucy safely off the yacht Natsu began fighting "Salamander" and his henchmen, but they hadn't gotten far before Happy's flight magic gave out and he and Lucy fell into the ocean below. But fortunately they had landed in the water near where Lucy's keys rested, and as she broke the surface she summoned her most powerful spirit; Aquarius the Water-bearer, a spirit that looks like a mermaid. Lucy pleaded with Aquarius to create a large wave and drive "Salamander's" yacht back to shore. Unfortunately, the temperamental spirit did more than just that as Lucy and Happy were also caught up in the wave that Aquarius had made, and they along with yacht were washed up onto the shore._

 _Lucy watched, horrified, as "Salamander: launched a large fireball at Natsu, but was surprised when she hear the sound of slurping and saw the fireball diminish in size until it was gone. What really surprised Lucy, and "Salamander", was that Natsu ate the fireball like it was food as after he had finished consuming the fire he let out a loud belch, then complained about the fire being some of the nastiest he's ever had; this caused Lucy to sweat-drop (was this guy for real, and for that matter was he even human because he just ate fire like it was spaghetti and wasn't singed or burnt). It was then that Happy told Lucy of the magic that Natsu uses; **Fire Dragon Slayer** magic. That put Lucy in awe of this bazaar man. When Natsu removed his coat a blood-red mark was revealed on his right shoulder, the mark of the Fairy Tail Guild, Lucy gasped with shock while "Salamander" and his goons paled at the realization that they were facing the "REAL Salamander", and one of "Salamander's" henchmen called him by his real name: Bora, as in "Bora of Prominence"._

 _Natsu made quick work of the faker and his men, but destroyed more than half of the port in the process. Natsu had hear the sounds of the authorities approaching and grabbed a dazed Lucy and began running for it. As he ran, dragging Lucy behind him like a kite, she yelled at him to let her go and demanded to know where he thought he was taking her. "To Fairy Tail of course. You do want to join don'tcha?", was Natsu's reply as he looked back at her and gave her a heart melting toothy grin. That was all the motivation Lucy needed to start running on her own; she was about to realize one of her dreams and join the famed Mage's Guild: Fairy Tail._

* * *

 _When Lucy, Natsu, and Happy arrived in **Magnolia** , the town where Fairy Tail is located and stood before the impressive guildhall, Lucy was in total awe, and filled with nervous anticipation. But even though she was following her own path and about to realize one of her biggest dreams, Lucy couldn't help the hollow feeling that had resided inside of her since her mother passed away; she doubted that anything in this world would ever be able to fill that nothingness that was eating away at her._

 _Lucy was broken from her shock and musings as Natsu beckoned her to follow as he kicked the doors to the guild open and shouted out his safe return. Lucy noticed that everyone had stopped what they were doing for a moment before going back to it. It was then that all hell broke out as a huge brawl had been started, and in the very center of it all was Natsu. Lucy skirted around the edges in total shock and awe of the bedlam that was ensuing, until she was broken from her shock by a sweet and melodious voice coming from beside her; as she turned to look at who had spoken to her Lucy came face to face with her idol, Mirajane Strauss. Lucy couldn't but to stare in awe, the white-haired woman was absolutely gorgeous; her vagina running like a faucet._

 _As Lucy surveyed the guild hall she noticed how everyone treated each other like family, despite fighting with each other; and some were family like Mirajane and her younger muscular behemoth of a brother, Elfman Strauss. Even though she hadn't officially joined yet they treated her like she had always been a part of the guild, like she was always part of their large dysfunctional family. Lucy felt happy to be included, even when a Raven-haired young man who was stark naked asked her if he borrow her panties; like she would hand them over, they were the only thing preventing her vaginal juices from dripping onto the wooden floors after meeting her "girl-crush", Mirajane._

 _All commotion in the bustling and rowdy guild hall came to an abrupt end when a loud and commanding voice boomed out. When Lucy looked to see who it was she became terrified as the person was humungous, and was even more terrified when Mirajane addressed the mountain of a man as "Master". But her feeling of terror shifted into that of shock as she watched the "Master" shrink to the size of an elderly balding white haired man of all of about 4 feet tall with a thick white moustache. Mirajane introduced Lucy to the "Master", Makarov Dreyar: one of the 10 Wizard Saints, and he warmly welcomed her to the guild and instructed Mira, as she was commonly referred to, to give Lucy her Guild mark. Lucy got her mark on the back of her right hand in Pink, one of her favorite colors, and went in search of Natsu to show him, but became annoyed when he didn't even look and called her "Luigi". The annoyance Lucy felt was greatly overshadowed by the immense joy she felt of realizing one of her dreams; but there was still that blackness marring her soul on account of how much she truly missed her mother, and could only ponder if her mother would be proud of the life that she was leading._

 _After officially joining Fairy Tail, Lucy went on many adventures, most of them with Natsu and Happy, made many wonderful and happy memories, and made many, many new friends with her fellow guild mates, besides Natsu and Happy; the most prevalent being a scarlet-haired woman, Erza Scarlet, who became like an older sister, a blue-haired book loving girl, Levy McGarden, whom Lucy would spend countless hours discussing books with, and the Raven-haired man who had asked for her panties, Gray Fullbuster, who was like a brother, and a couple new Celestial Zodiac Spirits: Virgo and Sagittarius. Lucy had joined a team of sorts that consisted of her, Natsu, Happy, Gray, and Erza after they had taken down a Dark Guild who were planning to use a cursed flute, that killed any who heard its melody, created by the darkest mage of all time, Zeref, to kill many innocent people; specifically all of the Guild Masters who had gathered together for a regular meeting._

* * *

 _It wasn't too long after what became known as "The Lullaby Incident" that another guild had attacked Fairy Tail, completely destroying the main part of the guild hall; luckily no one had been present when the destruction occurred. After the decimation of the hall Levy and her team had been viciously attacked and strung-up on a tree in the main park of **Magnolia** with the symbol of the guild that had attacked them painted on Levy's stomach; Phantom Lord. After that Fairy Tail went to Phantom Lord to get retribution on them for hurting their "nakama". Lucy had stayed behind to watch over Levy and her team, and as she was heading home she was attacked and abducted by two members of an elite group of mages from Phantom Lord; her keys falling to the ground as she struggled to get out a key to summon one of her spirits to help her._

 _After her abduction, Lucy learned from Phantom Lord's Master that it had been her father who had contracted them to retrieve her and bring her home, and that attacking Fairy Tail the way they had was just a bonus as Phantom Lord had a long standing rivalry with Fairy Tail. But the Master of Phantom Lord, Jose Porla: a Wizard Saint, was a greedy and ambitious man and planned to hold Lucy hostage and milk every last Jewel he could from her father completely bankrupting him and his company. Lucy may have her differences with her father on account of how cold and distant he was with her after her mother died, and setting up an arranged marriage for her without even consulting her, but she would never wish such a thing on him._

 _Lucy feigned needing to use the bathroom, and after Master Jose offered her a bucket to go in and she made like she was going to actually use it so he turned around to face away from her to give her some semblance of privacy, Lucy promptly kicked the greasy haired man in "the family jewels" from behind then launched herself off the tower in which she had been imprisoned only to be caught by Natsu._

 _After Lucy and Natsu returned to Fairy Tail, Lucy couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of guilt that washed over her like a tsunami; she felt that it was all because of her that her new friends, her new family, had been hurt, and that the Master was now battling for his life after having his magic drained from him. Even though everyone had tried to assure her that none of what was happening was her fault, Lucy remained resolute that it was entirely her fault._

 _Phantom Lord attacked again, this time demanding that Lucy be handed over to them or they would not only destroy Fairy Tail, but all of **Magnolia** with it. Lucy felt so utterly broken that she was prepared to give herself up if it meant that the others would be spared, but her guild mates were having none of that; they didn't even care that she had never told them about her past, or where she came from; to them she wasn't "Lucky' Lucy Heartfilia", heiress of the Heartfilia Konzern, she was just "Lucy", and they would fight to the last to keep her with them. Lucy was moved to tears by the show of affection that her "new family" was showing her, but she still didn't want anyone to get hurt on her account. So, Mira used a sleep spell on Lucy and sent her to a hideout to be kept safe. Unfortunately, Phantom Lord sent their Dragon Slayer, the Iron Dragon Slayer: Gajeel Redfox, after her, and with his enhanced sense of smell was easily able to track Lucy down and bring her back to the Mobile Phantom Lord Guild hall._

 _Once Gajeel had returned to the Mobile Guild hall with Lucy, he mercilessly beat her. But in-spite of the brutal beating she was receiving Lucy kept getting back up, smiling, because she had learned in the short time that she had been with Fairy Tail that a mage of Fairy Tail doesn't know when to give up, they keep on fighting through the pain until either they are dead or their opponent is unable to fight. So, Lucy chose to fight. She may not of had her keys, and her hands were in shackles, but she still fought using her words; Lucy was gifted with the use of words as she aspired to be a renowned author one day on top of being a mage. So, as "Black Steel" Gajeel continued to thrash her Lucy kept getting up and goading him. Suddenly the building began to shake; some members of Fairy Tail had gotten inside and were running amok, destroying the mobile headquarters of Phantom Lord from the side._

 _As Gajeel was preparing to strike Lucy again the floor burst upwards, and through the hole that was created Natsu appeared; Natsu had been searching for Gajeel because he really wanted to fight another Dragon Slayer, and he wanted to ask Gajeel about Igneel. The two Dragon Slayers began fighting like the dragons they were raised by, and trained to slay. Lucy could only stare in complete shock at the destruction, and awesome display of power the two Dragon Slayer mages were exhibiting. Gajeel had gotten the upper hand by eating the metal that was in the room, and Lucy racked her brain to think of a way to help her friend but was drawing a blank on how to create fire for Natsu to consume. That was when she remembered that she had the uncontracted key for the Celestial Zodiac spirit, Sagittarius, on her despite having lost her other keys. With Sagittarius' help Lucy was able to help Natsu gain back some of the advantage that he had lost to Gajeel, and Natsu was able to defeat Gajeel. Elsewhere in the building Gray, Erza, Elfman, and Mira took out the other elite members of Phantom Lord while a recently recovered Makarov used an ultimate Fairy spell, **Fairy Law** , of justice to defeat Phantom Lord's Master, Jose Porla._

 _After Phantom Lord's defeat Lucy decided that it was high time that she stop running and confront her father, and give him a piece of her mind and tell him off once and for all, renouncing herself as the heiress of the **Heartfilia Konzern**. When she returned to the palatial estate she was immediately led to her rooms where she was dressed in a poufy gown that she absolutely loathed and sent to her father's study. Upon entering Lucy's father arrogantly thought that she had returned and given up on her "silly dreams" and informed her that she was to be wed to Duke Sawaar Junelle, a short sweaty man who was older than her father. Lucy had heard enough, and ripping the dress off she proceeded to give her father a piece of her mind before saying "good-bye" and calmly, outwardly anyways, leaving her father standing there gaping like a fish out of water as she left his study, changed back into the clothes she had been wearing when she arrived, and leaving the mansion stopping at her mother's grave. As Lucy stood at the Angel topped monument of her mother's grave she heard someone calling her name, and when she turned to look for who was calling her Lucy was pleasantly surprised to see her teammates: Natsu, Happy, Erza, and Gray, approaching. Lucy was of course happy to see them, but confused as to why they were there in the first place; they had mistakenly thought that Lucy was leaving Fairy Tail for good, and boy did they feel silly when they learned that that wasn't the case. As they were leaving the grounds of the estate Lucy shocked them by saying that everything around them leading up to the distant mountains were simply the grounds of the estate. Lucy's teammates, her new friends, her new family were dumbfounded as to why she would have ever left such a place in the first; and it was as they made their way back to Fairy Tail that she told them the reason she left, and the reasons that Phantom Lord had attacked the guild._

* * *

 _Lucy still felt immense guilt for what had happened with Phantom Lord. As the guild hall was being rebuilt, Lucy made a startling discover; her guild mate, Loke, is actually a banished Celestial spirit. But he is not just any Celestial spirit, he is Leo the Lion, the leader of the Zodiac spirits. He was banished because the last mage he served died because he had stayed out under his own power to prevent the mage from abusing his fellow Zodiac spirit, Aries the Ram. Lucy was outraged by the injustice of it all; Loke did nothing wrong, he had simply protected his fellow spirit from being cruelly abused, and his last master had taken a job and got in over their head. Lucy was so outraged that she called upon the Celestial Spirit King by challenging the laws and his ruling, and summoning forth all of the spirits she has contracts with. The Celestial King was impressed with Lucy and lifted Loke's banishment provided that Lucy become his new key holder, which she gladly accepted. As a condition of Loke's contract with Lucy he would serve her and her descendants till the end of time, which Loke and Lucy were both amiable to._

 _After their contract had been forged by the Celestial Spirit King, Loke gave Lucy and her teammates tickets he had gotten to a beach resort/casino. Since the guild hall was still under construction the group of mages decided that it would be good to take a little vacation after everything they had just gone through, so they went. Only once they got there things quickly dissolved into another chaotic mess; some old friends of Erza's from her childhood appeared and abducted Erza amid the chaos they wrought while fighting with the other members of the team. So, Lucy along with Natsu and Gray, and with some help from a former member of the elite group of mages from Phantom Lord, which had been disbanded for their unprovoked attack on another guild, Juvia Lockser, they tracked Erza and her abductors, who had also abducted Happy, to a tower on an island off the coast of Fiore._

 _Once inside the tower, the small group of mages encountered some guards, but easily defeated them, and as they moved deeper into the tower they were reunited with Erza who explained about the tower, the group who had abducted her, the man running things, and his true objective; to use the tower to resurrect Zeref who had originally designed the tower for the purpose of resurrecting the dead. Erza also explained that she, as a child, had been brought there by a group of cultists who worshiped Zeref, and was forced to help in the tower's construction until one day she and several others rebelled but was ultimately betrayed by one of her closest friends who banished her from the tower and held her other friends hostage as leverage against Erza to ensure that she told no one about the tower. The group got separated with Lucy, Gray, Juvia, and Happy along with Erza's unbrainwashed childhood friends: Sho, Wally, and Millianna leaving the island in a boat while Natsu, Erza, her childhood friend, Simon, and the man who betrayed Erza all those years ago, Jellal, still inside the tower. Lucy and the others watched, horrified, as the tower was hit by the Magic Council's weapon, **Etherion**. Lucy, once again, thought that she had lost people who she held dear to her; the darkness within her growing. But when the dust from the blast cleared it revealed that the tower had been transformed into a giant Lacrima; a wave of relief washed over Lucy and the others knowing that their friends must have survived the blast. But the feeling of immense horror returned as Lucy and the others watched the giant Lacrima tower's power began to run amok and explode; this time they really did feel like their friends were lost. Once they reached the shore of the main land they were relieved to find a battered and disheveled Natsu carrying a nearly unconscious Erza. _

_After the incident with the tower, in which Lucy and the others had learned that Simon had died protecting Erza, and that Natsu ultimately defeated Jellal, the group of Fairy Tail mages bid farewell to Erza's closest childhood friends, and fellow slaves, who had decided to travel the world; Juvia had already left to go to Fairy Tail and speak with the Master about joining._

 _When Lucy and her teammates returned to **Magnolia** , it was to find the guild hall was completely rebuilt, and even larger than before, and that not only had Juvia joined, but also Gajeel had joined. Lucy had forgiven Juvia for her part in her abduction during the Phantom Lord Incident when the two of them fought side by side and performed a **Unison Raid** against one of the assassins that Jellal had hired, and she had even forgiven Gajeel for what he had done to her; despite the hollow feeling that has plagued Lucy for over 7 years now, she was all about giving people second chances if they were deserving of it._

* * *

 _Shortly after their return, the guild began preparing for the town's annual Harvest Festival and Fantasia Parade. But the Master's grandson and his team, the Raijinshuu had other plans. The Master's grandson, Laxus Dreyar, was an arrogant, self-absorbed, asshole, and so obsessed with power that he wanted his grandfather to hand over the title of "Master" and the guild to him, and he would kick out all the weaker members because they had no place in "his" guild; Laxus was butt-hurt about what had happened with Phantom Lord, yet he and his team had done nothing to help because when asked Laxus had made an outrageously absurd demand that Lucy become his woman, and that his grandfather hand over the guild to him (Mira flatly refused the demand by shattering the Communications Lacrima), and a recent article in "Sorcerer's Weekly" that had people laughing._

 _So, Laxus and the Raijinshuu implemented a plan to take-over the guild by force, and it all started at the "Miss Fairy Tail" beauty pageant; Laxus had the only female on his team, Evergreen, use her eye magic, **Stone Eyes** , to turn all of the contestants to stone so that they could use them as hostages- Lucy was unfortunately one of the contestants because the top prize, 500.000 Jewel, would have covered her rent for several months. After that Laxus, with his arm draped over the petrified Lucy's shoulders, announces a contest to determine who is the strongest in the guild, "The Battle of Fairy Tail". Everyone has 2 hours to defeat him and his team or the girls would remain as statues, and along the way they would have to also fight each other; Natsu is of course pumped about it, because in his child-like mind it's nothing more than a game. Unfortunately, Freed Justine, a member of the Raijinshuu, had placed a **Runes Barrier** around the guild preventing anyone over the age of 80 from leaving thus preventing the Master from beating some sense into his grandson, but for some reason even the 2 Dragon Slayers are unable to get through the barrier. Out in the streets of **Magnolia** it is utter bedlam as the mages of Fairy Tail fight each other after activating **Runes Traps** , courtesy of Freed, that force them to fight with only the winner being able to advance to find the Raijinshuu and Laxus. Back in the guild Erza is revived because **Stone Eyes** had no lasting effect on her due to her artificial eye; she had lost her right eye while being tortured as a child in the tower. Once she is brought up to speed on the situation Erza sets out to find Evergreen and force her to undo the spell; Erza does find Evergreen and ends up knocking her out which released the spell. When Laxus sees in the status updates in the runes that Freed had made that Evergreen had been defeated, he implemented his contingency plan, **Thunder Palace** ; a ring of over 200 Lightning charged Lacrima protected by **Organic Link** magic appeared floating over the town making all of **Magnolia** his hostages, and set a timer of 1 hour 10 minutes before they activate. Back at the guild hall all of the, now depetrified, girls are informed of the situation and notice the floating Lightning Lacrima surrounding the town; the shock of the lengths that Laxus is willing to go to get control of the guild cause Master to fall ill- a heart attack- and is taken to the guild's Infirmary. They learned that the Lacrima are protected by **Organic Link** magic when Bisca Mulan, a green-haired beauty who uses a form of **Requip** magic known as **Guns** magic, tried shooting one down with her Sniper Rifle and ended up unconscious. After getting Bisca settled into the guild's Infirmary the other female mages who had been petrified leave the guild to hunt down Laxus, Freed, and the last member of the Raijinshuu, a Seith mage named, Bickslow, and bring an end to Laxus' twisted little game while Levy remained behind to decipher the **Runes Barrier** that was preventing the Master and the Dragon Slayers from leaving the guild so that it could be dispelled; as she knelt on the floor working to decipher the runes Gajeel was totally checking out her cute little butt. Levy eventually figured out the cypher for the **Runes Barrier** and quickly dispels it allowing the 2 Dragon Slayers, who had been chomping at the bit to go out and fight, to rush off and find Laxus, defeat him, and stop the **Thunder Palace** from activating. Elsewhere in the town Lucy is confronted by Bickslow, but with the help of Loke she was able to defeat him; which was a huge confidence boost for her. When Laxus sees the update that Lucy had defeated Bickslow, he was shocked, impressed, and infuriated all at the same time; he was shocked that another of his precious Raijinshuu was defeated, impressed that the new girl was the one to have done it, and infuriated that Bickslow had lost. Laxus prayed, ironically since he was sitting in the town's only church, **Kardia Cathedral** , that Bickslow hadn't thrown the fight just because the new girl, Lucy, has some impressive tits. _

_Elsewhere in the battlefield that the town had devolved into Mira watched, horror-stricken, as Freed used his eye magic, **Dark Écriture** , to torture her brother, Elfman. Mira had enough as her magic power, which had been sealed for the past few years, suddenly spiked as Freed prepared to use **Dark Écriture: Death** on Elfman; the spike in magical pressure caused Freed to halt and take notice of Mira, and what he saw and felt frightened him. Mira entered into combat with Freed using her magic, **Take-over: Satan Soul** , which gave her the distinct appearance of a demon; hence Mira's nickname, "The Demon of Fairy Tail", from when she was an active mage. Mira easily overpowered Freed, and as she was preparing to deliver the final blow she stopped; Mira convinced Freed that this battle was meaningless, and that the essentially the whole thing was concocted by a man who was seeking attention like a petulant child. So, with tears in their eyes Mira and Freed both conceded the fight leaving Laxus as the last combatant against Fairy Tail. _

_Back at the guild an old friend of Makarov's arrives, the Hermit Healer, Porlyusica. After taking one look at the unconscious Makarov, she tells Levy to bring Laxus there, as Makarov hasn't got long to live, with tears in her eyes, much to Levy's extreme shock and dismay. With tears in her own eyes, Levy takes off to do as she had been told, but had no idea where to even find Laxus._

 _At the Cathedral Laxus is confronted by fellow S-Class mage, the reclusive Mystogan, who bears a striking resemblance to Jellal. Natsu and Erza arrive just in time to see Mystogan's mask fall away and revealing his appearance and it's similarity to that of Jellal's. After that Mystogan disappeared leaving Natsu and Erza to fight Laxus. Erza eventually left to go deal with the **Thunder Palace** allowing Natsu to finally fight Laxus, something the pinkette had been wanting for years. Out in the streets of **Magnolia** Erza, along with other members of the guild who had recently regained consciousness devised a plan to take down the **Thunder Palace** by simultaneously striking the Lacrima with their magic, despite the feedback that they will feel due to the **Organic Link** magic that protects each Lacrima._

 _Back in the Cathedral Natsu and Laxus are fighting tooth and nail, with Laxus having a slight advantage being the older and more powerful of the two, but that doesn't hinder Natsu in the least as he is filled with pure determination. Eventually Laxus does fully overpower Natsu and prepares to end Natsu once and for all, but at the last second Natsu is saved by Gajeel of all people. The two Dragon Slayers of Fire and Iron decide that it is best to team up to take Laxus down, but Laxus pulls out a "trump card" and reveals that he is also a Dragon Slayer, a Lightning Dragon Slayer. But unlike Natsu and Gajeel, Laxus wasn't trained by a Dragon; his Dragon Slayer abilities come from a Dragon Lacrima implanted in his body. After Laxus' reveal the three Dragon Slayers begin their fight anew. While the three Dragon Slayers duked it out in the church the rest of Fairy Tail successfully destroyed all of the Lacrima that comprised the **Thunder Palace**. During a lull in the fight between the Dragon Slayers Levy arrived as Laxus was preparing to use **Fairy Law** and informed him that his grandfather was on Death's doorstep and begs him to stop. But, Laxus instead smiles defiantly and laughs off the matter, stating that his chances of becoming Master have increased. He then proceeds to cast **Fairy Law** , but, much to his dismay, finds it incapable of hurting anyone in town. An injured Freed appears to explain that because, in his heart, Laxus still considers them comrades and **Fairy Law** only hurts those the caster considers enemies, his spell failed. This enraged Laxus, and he continues his fight with Natsu. As Laxus prepared to finish the pinkette off with **Lightning Dragon's Heavenward Halberd** , Gajeel used his iron body as a lightning rod and drew the attack towards himself once again saving Natsu. Laxus had used up almost all of his magic with that attack and gave Natsu an opening, so Natsu attacked with a barrage of attacks culminating in him using **Dragon Slayer's Secret Art: Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade** , which ultimately defeated Laxus and brought an end to "The Battle of Fairy Tail"._

 _When Lucy had been revived from her petrification and learned of what was transpiring she was filled with an all-consuming sense of dread, and when she saw and learned about the **Thunder Palace** that dread grew and fear was added to it. But it didn't deter her from doing all she could to prevent a horrific tragedy befalling her new family and all of the innocent people of **Magnolia**. So, when Lucy awoke to learn that the plan to take down the **Thunder Palace** had succeeded, and that Natsu had successfully defeated Laxus, she was overcome with relief._

 _After "The Battle of Fairy Tail" everything returned to normal, with the citizens of **Magnolia** being blissfully unaware of what had transpired in their quaint little town, and the mages of Fairy Tail preparing for the upcoming Fantasia Parade. At the Fairy Tail Guild hall Makarov had recovered enough that his life was no longer in danger; this caused the guild to cheer in relief. But the cheering died down when Laxus entered the guild demanding to see his grandfather, and Natsu, covered from head to toe in bandages, comically confronts Laxus, who just shrugs it off before proceeding to go meet with his grandfather. The Guild Master begrudgingly, and tearfully, excommunicated Laxus from the guild for his actions after giving the younger mage a valuable lesson in what a guild is truly meant to be, and telling Laxus that all he ever wanted was for him to be happy. Laxus thanks his grandfather for everything he has done for him and leaves the guild. Laxus said farewell to the Raijinshuu and convinced them all to remain in the guild. Later Laxus watches the parade from the shadows of an alley, and tears up when he sees his grandfather, and the rest of the guild, raise their right hand with index finger extended and knuckles facing outwards, a symbolic gesture that Laxus created as a boy that means: "Even if I can't see you... no matter how far away you may be... I will always be watching you.". After seeing the symbolic gesture, and knowing that despite everything he has done everyone will still be watching over him, Laxus turns, slinging his bag over his shoulder and leaves town. In the parade Lucy is front and center on a float alongside Bisca and Levy; a brilliant cheerful smile adorning her face. But on the inside Lucy is filled with melancholy over the recent events, and Laxus' excommunication, though she thinks that it is for the best that Laxus leave in order to find himself again because leaving home had been the best thing that Lucy had done for herself._

* * *

 _A week later things at Fairy Tail had seemed to settle down. Master was prepared to resign, but was talked out of it by Freed; the Raijinshuu were slowly starting to reacquaint themselves with their fellow guild mates, and the winners of the "Miss Fairy Tail" contest are announced: Erza won and Lucy came in second. But Lucy couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching her. And one night as she was walking home from the guild a strange hooded disheveled man appears before her, but is revealed to be her father after he removes his hood. He tells Lucy how he had lost everything to the Junelle's, and wanted to see her, but his true intentions were to borrow 100.000 Jewel from her so that he could start anew in **Acalypha** at the Merchant's Guild: Love and Lucky. When Lucy told her father that she didn't have it to give he became furious with her, and with tears in her eyes Lucy told him to leave. The next day as Lucy and her team were preparing to leave for a profitable mission Lucy overheard that Love and Lucky was besieged by a Dark Guild: Naked Mummy, and she renounces the mission with her team to go save her father despite him being a terrible father. Lucy arrives at the Merchant's Guild and with the aid of her spirits quickly defeats the dark mages who had taken it over, but her father is nowhere to be seen; he arrives after Lucy had saved the guild due to having had to walk there owing to being broke. Her father reveals to her that it was in "Love and Lucky" that he had met her mother, and that her name came from the Guild's sign missing the "K" in "Lucky". Shortly after Lucy's team arrives and she leaves with them; her father is happy to see her surrounded by friends and how grown she is, and he silently apologizes to his late wife for what he did._

 _A few weeks after the incident in **Acalypha** Lucy and her team mates were called into the Master's office where he explained to them that they would be representing Fairy Tail in an Alliance with other Legal Guilds to take down a dark guild known as, Oracion Seis, who are one of the three pillars of the dreaded Balam Alliance, which is an alliance of dark guilds. So, with that the team sets out for the meeting place; a mansion owned by the Master of one of the guilds taking part in the alliance, Blue Pegasus. Upon their arrival Lucy and her team are greeted by the Blue Pegasus team known as, "The Trimens", who are a bunch of showy, "pretty-boys" and fawn all over Lucy and Erza. When their leader, a short troll-like man who has a chin that looks like testicles, Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, tried to get too close to Erza, she booted him away and he had his head encased in ice as Lyon Vastia as he entered the mansion; Lyon was one of the mages representing the Lamia Scale Guild along with a pink-haired girl named, Sherry Blendy, and one of the 10 Wizard Saints, Jura Neekis. The group of assembled mages talked amiably as they awaited the representative from Cait Shelter, the final guild in their alliance, are surprised by the arrival a little blue-haired girl and her white feline companion; Wendy Marvel and Carla. _

_With all of the participating members of the Inter-guild Alliance now present the topic of discussion turned to the Oracion Seis and their objective. The Oracion Seis were looking for an ancient magical weapon known as, **NIRVANA** , but little else is known about the weapon, or the members of Oracion Seis other than they have only six members; Lucy got a really bad feeling about the whole thing. Before a plan could be made about how best to deal with Oracion Seis and the threat they pose a certain member of the Legal Guild Alliance, Natsu, takes off in search of their enemy prompting the others to chase after him before he can do something extremely dangerous and stupid, leaving Jura and Ichiya behind. Jura was attacked from behind by Ichiya, who had been replaced by a copy created by the Celestial Zodiac Spirit, Gemini, who is contracted to Oracion Seis member, Code name: Angel, who now knows the Allied Guild's plan to ambush Oracion Seis; the real Ichiya was beaten and tied up elsewhere in the manor._

 _As the 10 members of the Allied Forces are searching for the Oracion Seis base, Blue Pegasus' airship, CHRISTINA, which they had been planning to use later on flew overhead and suddenly blew up. This surprised the Allied Forces, but not as much as their enemy, Oracion Seis, suddenly appearing before them, and attacking. While the others countered Wendy, Carla, and Happy took cover behind a boulder, however the Oracion Seis easily defeated the Allied Legal mages, with Erza being lethally poisoned by a giant purple snake as she had engaged one of the Seis, Code Name: Cobra, in combat. The leader of the Oracion Seis, Code Name: Brain, prepares to finish off the allied mages, but stops when he notices a frightened Wendy hiding behind the rocks, and abducts her as he had recognized her as the "Sky Sorceress"; Happy accidentally gets taken along with Wendy. Brain the prepares, again, to finish off the downed allied mages before he and Oracion Seis depart, but the allied mages are saved at the last minute by Jura who, along with Ichiya, had just arrived. Ichiya used his **Healing Perfume** magic to heal everyone's injuries, but is surprised when it wouldn't work on the poison in Erza. An argument breaks out when Erza requested that someone cut-off her arm, but was calmed by Carla who told them that Wendy can heal Erza without unnecessary sacrifices because Wendy is the "Sky Dragon Slayer" and capable of employing advanced healing magic. Everyone agrees that rescuing Wendy, and Happy, should take precedence over finding the Oracion Seis' base, as it's likely that that is where they are holding Wendy anyways. Lucy's earlier feeling of dread returned 10 fold, and she was especially worried about the safety of Wendy, and to a lesser extent Happy; her worry for Happy's safety being lesser because the blue cat is always annoyingly teasing her, and calling her "Fat", but that doesn't mean she isn't still worried about him._

 _The remaining, abled body members of the alliance decide to split up to try and find Wendy; Lucy decided to remain behind with the poisoned Erza and one of the Blue Pegasus Trimens, Hibiki Lates who uses **Caster** magic known as **Archive** which allows the user to convert information into magical data, which can be stored, enabling the user to gain access to previously stored information, such as other types of Magic. Gray and Natsu have teamed up with Carla in the search for Wendy, and Happy. While searching for their missing ally Natsu asks Carla about Wendy's Dragon Slayer magic, and learns that Wendy volunteered for this mission in the hopes of meeting him, and that the dragon, Grandeeney, who raised and taught Wendy also disappeared 7 years ago in the year x777 just like Igneel, and the dragon who raised and trained Gajeel, Metalicana. Gray, Natsu, and Carla are soon attacked by the dark guild, Naked Mummy- the same guild whose members had taken over the Merchant's Guild, Love and Lucky, that Lucy had defeated singlehandedly. Elsewhere, the other groups of the Allied Forces encounter other dark guilds that are subjugated to Oracion Seis._

 _Gray and Natsu defeated Naked Mummy, and extort its top members for the location of the Oracion Seis' base. The others were also successful in defeating the dark guilds they faced, with the exception of Ichiya who had been captured. Gray and Natsu, having beat the location of the Seis' base out of the members of Naked Mummy, arrived at the location and Natsu, stupidly, yelled out for Wendy and Happy. This caught Brain's attention, and he sent Racer to deal with them. Gray engages Racer in combat, allowing Natsu and Carla time to reach the cave Wendy and Happy were being held; just to get there to find Jellal alive and well because Wendy had healed him, and Wendy crying. Natsu rushes at Jellal, only for Jellal to rapidly take him out without magic before doing the same to Brain and leaving. Carla picks up an unconscious Wendy, while Happy does the same with Natsu, and they head back to where Erza is so that Wendy can heal her._

 _While Racer and Gray continued fighting, Natsu made it back to where Erza, Lucy and Hibiki were with Wendy, Happy, and Carla after Hibiki used **Archive: Telepathy** and **Archive: Download** to guide him back without getting lost; Lucy was so relieved to know that Wendy was safe, as she had been worrying terribly about the young girl. After Wendy regained consciousness she healed Erza, and promptly fell unconscious again from using so much magic so soon after healing Jellal. Gray is eventually joined in his fight against Racer by Lyon and Sherry, with Gray and Lyon devising a plan on how to take down Racer; which they eventually do, but Racer is unwilling to accept defeat and reveals an Explosive Lacrima strapped to him and charges at the two **Ice-make** mages. As Racer charges at them Lyon shoves Gray aside, and tackles Racer sending the two of them off a nearby cliff just as the Lacrima explodes; Gray and Sherry are both dismayed by Lyon's sacrifice, and Gray uses his magic to make a set of stairs down the cliff and begins searching the area for Lyon, whom he's sure can't be dead. Meanwhile, Sherry starts to act strangely, wondering who is to blame for her beloved one's apparent death. Natsu and Brain both heard the explosion, and Brain wakes the final member of the Oracion Seis, Code Name "Midnight", and orders him to take out all of their enemies, which Midnight says that he will._

 _Elsewhere in the **Worth Woodsea** , Jura is locked in battle with Hoteye; the two are evenly matched as the both use similar **Earth** magic. Jellal, with Cobra following at a distance on Brain's orders, stops before a large tree, with chains protruding from it; much to Cobra's enthusiasm, Jellal destroys the tree, and a pillar of light is released from it. Cobra rejoices, as from the beam of light, which is seemingly starting to gather darkness from the surrounding area, a tower peeps out: Nirvana. Everyone in the vicinity, both Team Light and Oracion Seis, realizes that, and Midnight is seen congratulating an incredulous Brain, stating that now he'll kill all of their enemies before Midnight falls. Realizing that Jellal must be where **NIRVANA** is, Natsu rushes in that direction, willing to stop him so that Erza doesn't have to meet him again, but the girl concerned seems to overhear, slowly opening her eyes._

 _Everyone is shocked to see Nirvana appear, with the powerful Magic making communication via **Archive** between Hibiki, Eve and Ren difficult. While Gray searches for Lyon, Sherry stays still, silently blaming him for Lyon's supposed death, as her expression turns more and more evil. As Hoteye, having witnessed Nirvana and laughed happily, rejoicing in it, starts acting strange and screaming desperately as if he were in pain, Jura stares alarmed at him. Hibiki tells Lucy they should go after Natsu, but the group notices Erza has disappeared. Wendy starts crying, stating that the whole matter is her fault, for she was the one healing Jellal, and Hibiki unexpectedly attacks her with a spell, much to the others' dismay. Lucy's group is running in the same direction as Natsu, with Hibiki, carrying an unconscious Wendy on his shoulders, claiming that he had to do that. He tells the others that he knows what Nirvana is, but didn't tell everyone back at the meeting since it might have brought doubt about his loyalties. **Nirvana** is a spell that makes people switch between light and dark, and what they just saw is the first stage that makes people who waver between good and bad switch places, which is why he knocked out Wendy when she was having doubts. Sherry becomes affected by **NIRVANA** and attacks Gray, whom she blames for Lyon's death. Hoteye is also affected by **NIRVANA** and no longer holds with the ideology of Oracion Seis and hugs Jura, much to his surprise, and says they should work together to stop his comrades from using **NIRVANA**._

 _Lucy's group continues running towards the pillar of light, Happy brings up the fact that, if the alignment-changing ability of **Nirvana** is true, then those belonging to the Dark Guilds will switch to good. Hibiki says that's a possibility, but claims that, if **Nirvana** were to activate its second stage, then it could be used to target specific people such as a Guild, and its members would go on a killing spree, much to Lucy's dismay. Hibiki claims they have to stop **NIRVANA** , or the legal Guilds in the world will be destroyed, as Natsu continues running towards the light._

 _As Natsu continues running, he spots Gray, seemingly lying unconscious in a river. Natsu rushes toward him, but is lured onto a raft, and is almost killed by Gray before being saved by Lucy and the gang, with Sagittarius shooting an arrow to stop Gray. They at first thought that Gray had turned evil due to **NIRVANA** , but realize that he is an impostor as he starts listing data about them. The impostor then poses as Lucy and lifts her shirt, up which makes the guys happy, and troubles Lucy. She tells Sagittarius to shoot Hibiki, and then forces closed his gate and tells Carla to take Wendy somewhere safe, but the fake Lucy re-summons Sagittarius to shoot Carla and Wendy out of the sky. Angel shows up then and reveals herself as a Celestial Spirit Mage, and the impostor is revealed to be Gemini, the same Celestial Spirit who attacked Jura and Ichiya._

 _Lucy begins to fight against Angel, and with Hibiki directly downloading a powerful Celestial spell, **Urano Metria** , into Lucy's brain, Lucy defeated the busty, feather wearing, silver-haired dark Celestial mage. During their fight Angel summoned Aries, which greatly shocks Lucy, Loke (the leader of the Celestial Zodiac Spirits), and Hibiki, and explains that she was the one to kill Loke and Aries last master, Karen Lilica of Blue Pegasus, and took her keys. Lucy tried to dismiss Loke so that he wouldn't have to fight Aries, but the stubborn lion spirit refused, since they were summoned by different people and have to fight for their masters' sake. Loke quickly gains the upper hand since Aries isn't a combat Spirit, so Angel summons Caelum and ruthlessly shoots through Aries just to reach Loke; revealing that she can summon two Spirits at a time. Angel's act of cruelty greatly horrifies Lucy. Due to the damage from Caelum, both Loke and Aries are forced to return to the Celestial Spirit Realm to heal. Before they completely vanished, Loke apologizes to Lucy, and Aries says she's happy he found a kind owner._ _Enraged, Lucy summons Taurus, but Angel re-summons Gemini who poses as Lucy, distracting the charging Spirit, and uses Caelum to knock out Taurus. Without any energy left, Lucy begs Angel to release Aries from her contract in a final act of desperation. Lucy claims she deserves happiness together with Loke. Angel agrees, and declares that the price for Aries' freedom will be Lucy's life. Angel orders Gemini to kill her, but Gemini manages to feel Lucy's love for Celestial Spirits and cries, saying they can't kill her, greatly angering Angel and prompting her to close Gemini's gate. Hibiki suddenly appears and grabs Lucy's neck from behind, prompting both her and Angel to believe that he has fallen prey to Nirvana. However, this is just an act to trick Angel, and he tells Lucy that he is going to transfer a high-level spell into her head through his **Archive**. Lucy is shown entering into a trance and reciting an incantation, as Angel angrily charges towards her wielding Caelum. Angel angrily charges towards Lucy wielding Caelum, but the girl enters a trance and recites an incantation, casting the **Urano Metria** spell against Angel and defeating her. Lucy is shown waking up from the trance seconds after, oblivious of what just happened. Lucy notes the presence of her companions, and then rushes toward Natsu. However, Angel suddenly rises from the water and tries one final attack to take down Lucy with Caelum, but fails. She then faints as she remembers her prayer of "fading into the sky like an angel". Although her attack failed, she did make the raft Natsu was on sail down a waterfall, with Lucy having boarded it to protect her friend, and the two fall over together. Elsewhere, Brain is incredulous that Angel has been defeated too. He states he won't let the deaths of his comrades to go to waste, and that he'll crush the light. However, in the river, Angel is floating, alive and claiming she's not dead._

 _Shortly after, Lucy wakes up to find her wounds treated and her body clad in a different outfit. It is revealed that Natsu had also gotten a new outfit from Virgo, who passed through her own gate since Lucy was out of Magic Power. Sherry then appears and tries to attack them with her **Doll Attack** , but she is tackled from behind by Gray. She finally reverts to herself when Lyon appears alive and well, having survived the explosion, much to everyone's relief. _

_Back at **Nirvana** , Cobra reveals himself and asks Jellal how he manage to discover the magic's location and why he unsealed it, to which Jellal responds that was the doing of a voice in his dreams, which made him remember the magic's whereabouts. He then reveals that he unsealed it in order to destroy it by a **Square of Self-Destruction** on **Nirvana**. Cobra tries desperately to obtain the spell's deactivation codes, but to no effect. Jellal then reveals to have cast the spell on himself as well, being willing to die to make amends for his sins and to free Erza of his burden, taking her sadness away with him. Erza, however, rushes towards him with tears in her eyes, calling his name. As Erza bends over Jellal, she cries for him not to die, as he should remember everything he has done and make up for it living, Brain appears, and, by no means alarmed by Jellal's spell on **Nirvana** , reminds him that he's, in fact, the one who taught Jellal the spell in the first place, before rapidly nullifying it, much to Cobra's joy. **Nirvana's** second stage is finally activated, and the magic reveals its form as a gigantic building moving on six, large spider-like legs. Erza and Jellal manage to cling on the structure, and the former, despite Jellal's depression for not having stopped the Magic manages to convince him to deactivate the suicidal spell, showing him her comrades, who are clinging on **Nirvana's** legs too, ready to confront Oracion Seis and stop **Nirvana**. She says they'll never give up, being connected through hope, and spurs Jellal to live on and see the future with his own eyes._

 _Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Erza, Jellal, Wendy, Carla, Jura, Hoteye and Ichiya cling to the legs of the now mobile **Nirvana** , and Natsu starts suffering from motion sickness and falls, but is saved by Happy's sudden appearance. While the others climb the legs, Natsu and Happy fly to the structure's top in order to access it immediately. Inside, Brain shows Cobra the city of the ancients lying in Nirvana, and then takes control of the building and readies to move it towards a certain guild. However, Natsu suddenly appears, and Brain orders Cobra to take care of him. Cobra and his snake companion Cubellios hit Natsu and Happy several times, with the reptile being revealed to possess wings, which allow him and his master to fly. Meanwhile, Wendy and Carla find out, much to their shock that the direction Nirvana is heading to is that of their Guild Cait Shelter. Natsu attempts to attack Cobra, but finds it impossible to hit him due to Cobra hearing all of his thoughts. Meanwhile, Gray and Lucy meet up with Jura and Hoteye, and having been reassured that Hoteye isn't bad anymore, they listen to his story about the Nirvit, the neutral tribe which, in order to obtain peace, created **Nirvana** 400 years ago. As they are discussing it, Midnight suddenly appears. Hoteye, reveals that his true name is Richard, and tells his newly-found friends to leave and find Brain, as he readies to fight Midnight. _

_Gray, Lucy and Jura catch up to Natsu and Happy, with both of them being too exhausted and weakened to put up a fight against Brain, who's dragging Natsu, also afflicted by his motion sickness, away. The Oracion Seis' leader states he'll make Natsu a subordinate of his using **Nirvana** , which will soon reach Cait Shelter, something which shocks everyone. Jura asks Brain why he's moving **Nirvana** towards that Guild, and, when the he doesn't answer and mocks them, Jura rapidly attacks him with his powerful **Earth** Magic, much to Brain's dismay. Jura goes on to say that he won't let Brain sleep until he reveals his goals, while Gray and Lucy watch on in surprise and admiration. Jura and Brain engage in a brief battle, with the Oracion Seis' leader attacking the Wizard Saint with his **Darkness** Magic. Jura, however, uses his signature **Iron Rock Wall** to parry all of Brain's attacks, and then rapidly proceeds to defeat Brain with **Supreme King Rock Crush**. Brain wonders how they lost, as that man promised them that they'd never lose. He then remembers his prayer, for his "son" Midnight not to vanish as well. The others note that the lines of his face are disappearing, as Wendy and Carla manage to reach them._

 _Wendy uses her **Troia** spell to momentarily eliminate Natsu's motion sickness, and the group resolves to stop **Nirvana** , which, despite Brain's defeat, is still moving on track towards Cait Shelter due to Midnight's presence. The group, consisting of Lucy, Gray, Natsu, Jura, Wendy, Carla, and Happy, try thinking of a plan to stop the building from reaching Wendy's Guild, with Wendy herself running away on her own, stating that she might have an idea. Hoteye seemingly communicates telepathically with the group, stating that they'll find Midnight under the throne room, and that stopping him will stop **Nirvana**. However, this is a deception, with the one having sent the telepathic communication being, in fact, Brain. When Natsu, Gray, Lucy and Jura reach the indicated place, they are caught in a huge explosion. Jura, at the last second, used **Iron Rock Wall** to protect the trio from Fairy Tail, and says that he is glad that they are all safe before falling unconscious with the trio rushing to his side. After tending to Jura's wounds, Natsu, Gray and Lucy are surprised to see Brain's staff, Klodoa, talk and declare itself as the seventh member of Oracion Seis. Natsu, Gray and Lucy engage Klodoa in a clumsy battle, with the stick hitting them around. However, Klodoa realizes that all of the Oracion Seis have been defeated, and this terrifies him, because now "he" will appear: usually sealed away by the **Organic Link Magic** connected to the six members of Oracion Seis, the Six Prayers, Brain's alternate, devious personality who loves destruction, Zero, will now be released. This proves to be true, as Zero himself appears, and quickly and effortlessly takes out Natsu, Gray and Lucy. He then proceeds to ruthlessly kill Klodoa himself, and then readies to fire **Nirvana** against Cait Shelter, to satisfy his eagerness for destruction._

 _Wendy and Carla reach Jellal and Erza, and Wendy, not being recognized by him, is informed that he has lost all of his memories. Meanwhile, Zero fires off **Nirvana** on Cait Shelter; however, the blast misses by a margin, due to the sudden appearance of the Christina airship, flying again, and with the other members of the Allied Forces on board. Hibiki, through the use of his **Archive** , proceeds to communicate his allies on **Nirvana** how to stop the wandering building: they'll have to destroy the six Lacrima crystals empowering it, each placed in a different leg, in twenty minutes, before **Nirvana** can fire again. Shortly after, Zero sends a communication to everyone, stating he'll be waiting at one of the Lacrima crystals to defend it, making **Nirvana** 's destruction difficult. There are, still, only three Mages left to fight, and Wendy claims to possess no offensive ability. This problem is solved, however, when Natsu, Gray and Lucy, spurred by their companions, get to their feet again, ready to accomplish their goal. Natsu chooses the crystal number 1, Gray chooses 2, Lucy chooses 3, Ichiya goes for 4, Erza takes 5 and then gives the task to destroy 6 to Jellal, stating that Natsu still believes him to be evil, and that for now they shouldn't let him know about Jellal. As everyone heads for their designated targets; Ichiya moving with difficulty towards crystal 4, due to him being still tied to a pole by a dark guild. Natsu reaches crystal 1 and readies to fight Zero, who's standing there. Natsu engages Zero in combat without managing to hit him, and instead being struck himself numerous times by the opponent's **Darkness** magic and by his physical blows. Jellal suddenly appears and blasts Natsu with a spell, having seemingly returned to his evil personality; however, he instead reveals that he sees Natsu as "a fire of hope", proving to be still good, and reveals him that he has lost his memories. As Natsu, angered, attacks him and reprimands him for his past actions, Zero uses his **Dark Capriccio** against them, and Jellal steps before Natsu, taking the brunt of the attack on himself, reminding the latter about the same thing Simon did for Erza in the Tower of Heaven. Having fallen to the ground, Jellal offers Natsu some golden fire, the **Flame of Rebuke** , to consume and to revitalize Natsu. Jellal tells Natsu that even though he could not remember his crimes, he could not be forgiven for them, and that Natsu had to defeat Zero. Meanwhile, Wendy arrives at crystal 6, with Jellal having asked her to destroy the crystal in his place, because with the young girl too exhausted to use her healing Magic, Jellal decided to go and heal Natsu himself. Remembering Jellal's kind encouragement, for her to eat the "heaven" through her Dragon Slayer powers in order to obtain offensive power, Wendy readies herself._

 _At crystal 1, Natsu finally accepts Jellal's flame, with Jellal stating that he believes in the man Erza believes in before passing out. His fire spell proves to be extremely powerful, as, consuming it, Natsu enters **Dragon Force** , much to Zero's dismay, who had now been struck by Natsu several times. With Natsu commenting that the sensation is the same as when he ate Etherion, the two resume their battle. At crystal 3, Lucy states that she has no magic power left to destroy the crystal is surprised to see Gemini sudden appear. The Celestial Spirit, turning into herself offers Lucy her help in destroying the crystal. Natsu and Zero continue their battle, and, despite Natsu's **Dragon Force** , Zero retains the upper hand. As Natsu's comrades get ready to attack the respective crystals, praying for Natsu to be safe and to do it in time, Zero brutalizes and badmouths Natsu, stating that he can't beat him, the leader of Oracion Seis, on his own. Natsu, however, rises on his feet, stating that he's not alone, because his comrades' power is running through his body. He then charges towards Zero, readying to use his **Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade** against Zero's ultimate attack: **Genesis Zero**. As everyone readies to attack the crystals, Natsu and Zero clash: Zero's **Genesis Zero** seems to overwhelm Natsu, but Natsu manages to literally devour it using the golden flames he was granted, and then reveals an astonished Zero the true power of a Dragon Slayer, roaring out loudly as the image of an imposing Dragon appears behind him. He proceeds to hit Zero, and finishes Oracion Seis' leader off with his **Crimson Lotus: Phoenix Blade** , sending him crashing through the Lacrima crystal just as his comrades attack theirs, thus destroying **Nirvana**._

 _Following the destruction of the Lacrima crystals, Nirvana starts to fall apart, and everyone tries to make it outside. Wendy and Carla and are saved by Jura, Natsu and Jellal by Hoteye. With everyone safe, the gathered group is introduced to Jellal and told that he lost his memory; despite his past, evil deeds, having helped them out, he's considered a friend. During a private conversation, Erza and Jellal reconcile, with the woman telling him that she'll be at his side to help him while he gets back his memories, and Erza tries to add something, but is interrupted by the arrival of the Council's 4th Custody Enforcement Unit, led by Lahar. The man explains that the Council has now been restored, and that they are here to capture certain criminals. The army starts with Hoteye, for his past sins as an Oracion Seis member, despite him having being turned good by **Nirvana**. Jura tries to speak against them, but Hoteye decides to be arrested since he can never be rid of his sins even if he turned good. Before he gets taken away, Jura tells him that he will continue the search for his younger brother in his place, and asks for his name. Hoteye says his name his brother's name is, Wally Buchanan, and Erza, surprised, instantly tells them that she knows him and that he is alive and well, traveling across the continent with his good friends. This makes Hoteye burst into tears, and realize that there is hope for those who believe in the light. He is taken into custody with no regrets or worries. Lahar proceeds to tell them that they are after another person, even more dangerous than the Oracion Seis: Jellal. For his crimes of infiltrating and destroying the Council, as well as firing Etherion, he's to be arrested. Wendy tries to convince Lahar to change his mind and protests that Jellal could not even remember what he did, but Lahar refuses, and says ignorance of one's crimes is no excuse and that Jellal will either receive execution or life imprisonment. Jellal remains calm, accepting his punishment and thanking Erza for everything she has done. Erza looks on helplessly as her long-lost friend is about to be taken away from her permanently just after reuniting. As she thinks that she can't let Jellal go, Natsu attacks the soldiers, saying he won't allow Jellal to be taken away since Jellal is one of them now. Natsu tells Jellal that he has to stay by Erza's side for her sake, much to Jellal's distress, with his new friends exposing themselves and risking their freedom for him, who has resigned to turn himself in. Just as Lahar orders his underlings to arrest them all, after making a terribly difficult decision, Erza cries for them to stop, stating she'll take responsibility herself, and tells them that they can take Jellal away, much to his relief. Before being taken into custody, Jellal manages to remember one final thing, Erza's surname, Scarlet, stemming from her hair, and openly tells it before bidding farewell to Erza, with her sadly saying the same. Following Hoteye and Jellal's arrest, the group feels dejected; especially Lucy and Erza who are distraught over the whole affair, with Erza going off alone, presumably to have a good cry._

 _After joining up the friends that were on the Christina and arriving at Cait Shelter, everyone gets new clothes to replace their torn up ones. They meet up with the people of the Guild, and, after receiving their sincere thanks from Roubaul, the most exuberant members of Team Light try to celebrate, but then notice Roubaul upset. Cait Shelter's Master goes on to explain that they are not, in fact, the descendants of the Nirvit, but the Nirvit tribe itself. He explains that 400 years ago he was the one who created **Nirvana** to stop the wars raging throughout the country, and founded a village on the machine itself, which enjoyed a time of prosperity. However the darkness that they removed from the targets found its way to the Nirvit tribe itself, and made the people kill everyone in cold blood, with only Roubaul managing to escape and eventually dying, just to live on as a spirit. He sealed **Nirvana** away, since he couldn't destroy it himself, and settled in an abandoned town to watch over the machine until someone could destroy it. He swore and remained in solitude for some time, until a child with Jellal's appearance appeared carrying an unconscious Wendy, asking him to take care of her, to which Roubaul agreed. Wendy then woke up and asked where she was, since her companion told her that he was going to take her to a guild. Roubaul, not wanting Wendy to feel sad, said that the place was, in fact, a guild, and used his extremely powerful Magic to turn the wrecked town into a guild and create illusory people to be part of it. Now that the burden of **Nirvana** is destroyed, the guild members start to disappear, and, as Wendy, in despair, is told by Roubaul that she no longer needs illusory companions, having found real ones. As Roubaul himself, his task completed, starts disappearing, Wendy runs towards him, but he vanishes before she can reach him, telling her that's just the beginning and that the future awaits her, thanking her newly-acquired comrades and asking them to look after her and Carla. With her Cait Shelter mark gone from her arm, Wendy desperately cries out for Roubaul with tears in her eyes, as everyone else stare on silently. Erza nears Wendy and kneels behind her, telling her that she knows it's hard to have someone close disappear, but that her comrades will help her bear that sadness. Erza then invites Wendy back to Fairy Tail with them._

 _The group from Fairy Tail, alongside the new entries Wendy and Carla, sails back towards their Guild, having parted with their friends from the Allied Forces. Lucy obtained Angel's three Gold keys, Gemini, Scorpio and Aries, who were favorably impressed by her kind attitude towards Celestial Spirits. The group reaches Fairy Tail, where they are welcomed back, with great excitement about Wendy and her Dragon Slayer magic; which shocked them at first. A great party is organized for the occasion, and everyone is happy. While his guild mates celebrate, Mystogan, briefly glancing at them before disappearing. A few days later, Fairy Tail is in turmoil: much to everyone's excitement and happiness, Fairy Tail's strongest Mage, Gildarts Clive, will return, having been away for three years on a mission which nobody could complete in 100 years. But despite gaining new members to her "family", one of them being like the little sister she always wanted but never had, Lucy still a vast nothingness within her._

* * *

 _With Wendy admitted into Fairy Tail and Gildarts' homecoming, the entire town of Magnolia is thrown into disarray, as they are all sucked into the parallel universe, Edolas, through a portal. Seeing no other way to get their friends back, Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla utilize the pieces of that portal in order to travel to where their friends are. When they arrive, however, everything is not what it seems to be._ _Shortly after their arrival, Happy and Carla's wings disappear and they fall in a storage building. After finding some disguises, Natsu spots a Fairy Tail guild mark outside the window and runs towards it, and they enter. However, everyone's behavior there disturbs them. Shortly after they enter, a girl, who looks a lot like Lucy, spots them and confuses Natsu for their friend. Soon, Carla realizes that the people here are not their friends, but they are the inhabitants of Edolas. Realizing that their friends must be at the Royal City, they prepare to leave but then someone bursts in and tells them that the Fairy Hunter has located them. Shortly after the Royal army arrives, Fairy Tail manages to teleport away to another location. There, Natsu, Wendy, Happy and Carla learn that magic is outlawed, Fairy Tail is being treated as a Dark Guild, and it is revealed that the Fairy Hunter is none other than Erza Knightwalker. Clearing up the misunderstanding, Natsu reveals that they are from Earth Land, and that they are setting out to save their friends, with the others refusing to assist in such a dangerous mission. Along the way, the group bumps into a giant frog and tries to fight it but realize that none of them can use their magic in Edolas. Luckily, they are saved by Edo-Lucy, Lucy Ashley, who decides to give them directions and help them a little._

 _Arriving in Louen, Edo-Lucy takes them to a black market to buy magic items that they can use to fight. Shortly after they purchase the items, the royal army locates them and Natsu instantly tries his new weapon, which produces a giant blade made from flames. His effort is made useless thanks to the shields that the army uses, and for overusing his already limited weapon in one use. Just then, Wendy accidentally uses her magic item, which summons a giant twister and sends the army flying some distance, which allows them to escape from the army. While hiding out in a building, they hear the army making a rattle and are surprised to see Earthland Lucy with them. They immediately rush to help her, but are surprised that Lucy can use her own Celestial Spirit Magic, managing to summon Scorpio and Aries to fight the army. While hiding out in a forest, they learn that Lucy used Horologium to hide out against the Anima and that Mystogan is the one who sent her to Edolas. Earthland Lucy then boasts about currently being the current strongest Fairy Tail Mage as she is the only one who has her magic with her, and the group then formulates a plan, with Ashley realizing that they may be able to change things in Edolas._

 _While hiding out at Sikka, Edolas Lucy decides to abandon them and head back to the guild so she can persuade the other guild members to help them. The next morning while wandering around, they spot an airship belonging to the Royal Army, and decide to hijack it so they can make it to the Royal City faster. However, when Lucy tries to summon Loke, Virgo appears instead and their plan hits a major problem. However, they are saved by none other than Natsu's Edolas counterpart driving a magic powered vehicle with flames painted down the sides. The three Earthland mages and two talking cats jump in the vehicle, much to Natsu's dismay on account of his motion sickness, and Edo-Natsu takes off. When they stop they are surprised to learn that Edolas Natsu, Natsu Dragion, has driven them all the way to the Royal City, as well as his split personality of a confident driver to a shy boy who is afraid of Lucy when he's out of a vehicle. When Dragion leaves and the group enters the city, they are surprised to see that Magic isn't outlawed in this town and are shocked when they see a giant Lacrima. They learn that the people at the Royal City claim it to be given to them by a god and the Mages, especially Natsu, are outraged by the King's arrogant nature and greed, with Lucy trying to calm him down. Knowing that their friends are trapped inside the Lacrima crystal, the Mages try to find a way to release them and realize that the King might know a way to undo the spell. Also, Carla starts having visions about the kingdom and some secret routes that they can use, so they decide to infiltrate the palace and have Gemini take on the king's form and his memories so they can find the answer they're looking for. However, they are ambushed and captured by the army led by Edolas Erza. Just when Happy and Carla try to get them to stop, they immediately bow down, call them Exceed, and thank them for their successful mission, greatly shocking them since Carla thought their mission had something to do with the Earthland realm._

 _In the Royal Capital, the army captains and Faust learn that the humans of Earthland can store Magic inside their bodies just like the Exceeds. Faust then says that Queen Shagotte has made an announcement for Lucy's execution. As a barefoot Lucy recalls the dialogue between the Exceed Queen and the humans, Erza Knightwalker walks in and is mistaken for Erza Scarlet, with Lucy trying to ask for help but the latter just drags her out of the cell, intending to push her from the palace and kill her. Lucy learns that this Erza is an enemy who enjoys hunting Fairy Tail Mages, and just as she gets pushed off, Happy and Carla arrive just in time to catch her. Later, Carla tries to get some info as to where Natsu and Wendy are by pretending to be Queen Shaggote's daughter. She manages to find out their location but fails to save them, as the army is informed that she and Happy are "Fallen". As they try to retreat, Captain Nichiya and an army of exceed arrive and try to seize them, with them realizing that the Exceed have them cornered both from the air and the ground. Just then the King notices the army of Exceed arrive and decides to initiate Code ETD, which results in the Exceed getting turned into a giant Lacrima crystal. This gives Happy and Carla an opportunity to escape and get inside the tower where Natsu and Wendy are. As they run down the stairs to where they are, they are attacked by Erza Knightwalker and her army and realize that the army is already draining the Magic out of their friends, which could kill them. Despite Carla demanding they return Wendy, Erza ignores her and prepares to kill her, but Happy defends her and tells her to kill him first. Just as she is about to do so an explosion occurs behind the army and Erza Scarlet with Gray Fullbuster appear to join the battle, being able to use their magic._

 _While Erza holds off her counterpart, Gray and the others head towards where the Dragon slayers are. They then learn that Gajeel is also in Edolas and is fighting the army, and that the Lacrima they saw in the courtyard was actually just Gray and Erza, which Gajeel released them from with **Dragon Slayer Magic**. Realizing that Gajeel can use his Magic to revive the others as well, Happy flies towards Gajeel to take him to where the Lacrima is located. When the others finally arrive at the room where Natsu and Wendy are, they find out that they are too late, but then Gray pulls out a bottle of pills to feed Natsu and Wendy. They soon regain consciousness, and learn that Gray and Erza, as well as Lucy, were all able to use magic due to the pills Mystogan had given them all. The moment Natsu wakes up, he charges out of the room and Wendy informs the others that the army plans to use Dragon Slayer Magic to smash the giant Lacrima into Extalia and create eternal Magic. Team Natsu, as Lucy's team is known as, then decides to find the King and stop him, while Wendy and Carla head to Extalia to try and warn everyone. Meanwhile, Happy manages to locate Gajeel and flies him to the Lacrima but just as he is about to smash the crystal, Panther Lily, a rather imposing Exceed who serves the Kingdom of Edolas, arrives using his **Aera** , the magic that allows Happy and Carla to fly, and carrying a giant sword to stop him. As Natsu and his gang continue searching they come across an amusement park, with Sugarboy and Hughes waiting to engage them in battle. Gray fights against Sugarboy while Natsu fights against Hughes, but despite being able to use their magic, they still find themselves having a hard time against their enemies' magic Items. Natsu soon gets taken out because Hughes can control everything in the park and puts him on a magical roller coaster which results in the former's motion sickness._

 _King Faust and his senior advisor, Byro, plan to use the **Dragon Chain Cannon** to smash the giant Lacrima into Extalia, but the Assistant Chief of Staff, Coco, implores the king to reconsider because Panther Lily is fighting near the Lacrima. The king disregards Coco's request to delay by saying, "one death makes no difference", prompting a shocked Coco to take matters into her own hands and steals the key that would initiate the **Dragon Chain Cannon**. The king and Byro attack Coco as she flees, but their attacks do not hinder her in the slightest. Shortly after, Coco bumps into Lucy, and then Byro shows up demanding the key, with Lucy mistaking his demand for the key to mean her Celestial Keys, so she defends Coco by summoning the Celestial Zodiac spirit, Taurus. As Lucy and Byro fight she learns that his magic involves throwing liquid of varying effects, with some of it hitting Taurus causing him to return to the **Celestial Realm** to recover. Lucy then summons the Celestial Zodiac spirit, Virgo, who manages to trap Byro in a pitfall trap; Virgo senses how much magic Lucy is using to summon the Zodiac spirits and presents her with a whip from the **Celestial Realm** , **Fleuve d'étoiles** , to aid her in the fight. Lucy effectively wields the whip and ties Byro up before smashing him through a wall, while at the same time Natsu punches Hughes through the wall from the other side, and both enemies are knocked out. Coco realizes that Natsu and Lucy are trustworthy and decides to give them the key for the **Dragon Chain Cannon** , and asks them to stop the King's plan, but before she can give them the key Sugarboy arrives and snatches the key away. Soon Gray arrives on a motorcycle and chases Sugarboy, when Gray catches up to Sugarboy he learns what the key is for Gray uses **Ice-Make: Floor** to send Sugarboy crashing into a wall. Gray then grabs the key and encases it in ice; since the army needs it Sugarboy can't use his magic on the ice out of fear of damaging the key. As Gray continues to freeze the key it starts to crack, and Sugarboy begs Gray to stop saying that they need the key to save their friends. Gray refuses to listen and shatters the key, also finishing off Sugarboy, but as Gray walks away Sugarboy mocks him saying they have lost all chance of rescuing their friends, but Gray just laughs and says he can make a replica with his ice._

 _When Natsu catches up, he is a little surprised to see the key destroyed, but then learns that Gray can create a replica and that they can use it to turn everyone back to normal. Shortly after, Erza Knightwalker (actually Erza Scarlet in disguise) shows up and captures them. Erza takes Natsu and Gray, who are seemingly unconscious and ties up past the gates to where the **Dragon Chain Cannon** is. Erza tells Gray to create a duplicate of the key, secretly trying to hit the Lacrima with the cannon, but the plan fails and Erza tells Natsu to move, knocking out some of the soldiers as she takes the King as hostage. The mages then order the soldiers to change the target of the cannon to the Lacrima itself, but the plan is thwarted by Erza Knightwalker, who appears from above and attacks Earthland Erza, releasing the King and returning the cannon to its original target in the process, which then fires. Lucy then arrives with Coco on a Legion to save and take everyone to Extalia and stop the Lacrima;_ _Natsu reaches Extalia with Happy just in time to try to stop the giant Lacrima from ramming on Extalia. When the strength of the Mages proves to be not enough to push the Lacrima away from Extalia, the entire population of Extalia, including the queen, to the surprise of many, arrive to help. Suddenly the Lacrima disappears and Mystogan appears, who explains that thanks to them, he was able to find an Anima large enough to send the Lacrima back to Earthland and return everyone to normal. He then reveals himself as the Prince of Edolas, who Panther Lily once saved many years back, but suddenly Panther Lily is attacked by Erza Knightwalker along with the Royal Army, who have arrived to attack the Exceeds with a group of soldiers on Legions. As Mystogan tries to stop Erza Knightwalker, the King appears inside an enormous Dragon-like machine called **Dorma Anim** , which nullifies all external magic attacks. The King orders the soldiers to capture the Exceeds and then shoots a magic beam from his creation, but Mystogan uses the Three Layered Magic Circle: **Mirror Water** to deflect the attack back to it, to no avail. **Dorma Anim** shoots again and takes Mystogan down, but when the King is about to attack again, the **Dorma Anim** is suddenly beaten 3 times revealing Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, who decide to take on the King, leaving the rest to deal with the soldiers. After surrendering the battle to Natsu, Wendy, and Gajeel, Mystogan reveals that he lost on purpose to save Panther Lily, and he recruits Panther Lily's help for "one last job". After reaching the room where **Anima** is produced, he reveals his plan to open a reverse **Anima** in order to send all of the magic in Edolas to Earthland, leaving Panther Lily shocked._

 _As the battle continues, Wendy casts supportive spells on Natsu and Gajeel while they fight with the **Dorma Anim** , one making them faster and another making them stronger. The King then fires some tracking missiles after Wendy but Natsu intercepts and destroys them. When the King is about to shoot again, Gajeel hits the missiles before launch, but gets hit by the tail of the **Dorma**. A group of missiles is fired again, but these explode before Natsu can hit them. The King gets surprised when Natsu eats the fire of the explosions while Gajeel starts eating the tail of the machine. Suddenly it changes color and gains an increase in power as the King plans to end the fight. The new form of the **Dorma Anim** grants it a huge increase in power, turning the fight in the King's favor. Trying to gain the upper hand, all three of them attack at once with their respective roars, but it has almost no effect. The King proclaims victory, saying that although they have infinite magic, once it runs out it takes a while to recharge. Meanwhile, Lucy and the others are having a tough time fighting the Royal Army, but are assisted by Edolas Fairy Tail members that arrive and battle against the army. Edolas and Earthland Fairy Tail continue to battle with the Royal Army. Meanwhile, a fight between the two Erzas is taking place, and they show off the monstrous power of their blades and armors. Finally, the two woman exchange their final blow with the two of them collapsing due to lack of magic power. Then Erza Scarlet lectures Knightwalker about the importance of love and friendship over magic, telling her that she will still be alive without any magic like now and that life itself is strength, overwhelming Knightwalker as tears roll down her cheeks. Edolas Erza has now finally understood the very meaning of living and loving and thus surrenders. As the fight against the King continues, Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel are slowly running out of magic power, and are being overwhelmed by the **Dorma Anim**. However, they stubbornly get back up and persist to fight, with Gajeel pinning the **Dorma Anim** 's leg down to the ground, Wendy using her roar at Natsu to boost his speed, and lastly Natsu tearing through the **Dorma Anim** , defeating the King in the process._

 _In the **Anima** control room, Mystogan carries out his plan, leaving the people of Edolas in distress. He tells Panther Lily that there has to be a villain and a hero and he will play the villain, ordering Panther Lily to kill him and become the hero and the King of the new world, but Panther Lily refuses to kill him arguing that Mystogan should become the King instead, telling him that if he destroys the world then he should take responsibility by leading it instead of dying. When Mystogan tells him that this solution won't quell the chaos, Panther Lily offers to be the villain instead, but Mystogan is adamant in his decision. They are then interrupted by Nadi who tells them that three people, who turn out to be Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel, are wreaking havoc in the city. Seeing that the islands are falling from the sky and after conversing with Nadi, Natsu decides to dress up and declare himself the Great Demon-Lord Dragneel, the villain needed by Mystogan. Tying up Faust in front of the Royal Capital, he declares that he is the one responsible for taking magic away from Edolas, commanding his servants to destroy the streets of the Royal Capital. Mystogan then shows up, saying that there's no reason to fight anymore with the King defeated, but Natsu doesn't listen and revealed Mystogan's lineage towards the masses. The Great Demon Lord then taunts Mystogan to fight him if he doesn't want Natsu to destroy the whole city, and Nadi reveals to the prince that after finding out about Mystogan and Panther Lily's argument, they decided to become the villain and take the fall. Since the **Anima** is taking away the magic from Mystogan's magic items, he and Natsu resort to hand to hand combat. In the midst of their battle, Natsu starts reciting the "Fairy Tail Farewell Ceremony", though he forgets the second rule so Mystogan recites that one himself. After he finishes the recitation he collapses to make it look like Mystogan has won the match and says that he wishes they meet each other again, and shortly after the **Anima** starts absorbing the people with magic power to send them back to the Earthland Realm._ _Before leaving, Gray lifts up the spirits of the Edolas Fairy Tail Guild by saying that what makes a guild is not magic power, but the allies who support one another. Then, as the **Anima** starts absorbing the Dragon slayers, they pretend to be suffering to further enhance their act and make Mystogan a hero. When they are far enough to not be seen by the people of Edolas, they smile and say good bye to Mystogan one last time. With all the magic power gone, Mystogan raises his staff and tells his people that he will lead this world and that they will continue living, even without magic power._

 _When the **Anima** starts taking everyone back to Earthland, everyone says goodbye to the people of Edolas, but upon returning to Earthland, much to everyone's surprise, the Exceed have also followed them. The Exceed explain the truth about sending Happy and Carla to Earthland; the mission was all a lie. Due to the Queen's power, she could see Extaila destroyed so in order to keep their species alive, she sent 100 eggs to Earthland to protect them, and lied about the mission to kill the Dragon Slayers to the other Exceeds. After apologizing, the Exceeds leave on good terms with the humans and swear to find the rest of the eggs, although Shagotte has not told Carla yet that she is her mother. After that, Gajeel wonders what happened to Panther Lily, who later appears in a smaller form similar to that of Happy and Carla's, requesting that he joins the guild that the prince once stayed at; Gajeel then happily hugs his own "cat". Panther Lily then states that he caught a suspicious person and everyone, especially Natsu, is shocked when that person is revealed to be Lisanna. She asks Panther Lily if he is an Exceed, to which he replies by stating his name, and Gajeel angrily asks her if she is picking a fight with his cat. When Lisanna sees Natsu, she runs towards him and hugs him. Then she hugs Happy and greets both Gray and Erza. She notices Lucy and Wendy too, and deduces they must be the Earthland versions of their counterparts back in Edolas. Gray then asks if she's Lisanna of Earthland, to which she replies positively. Everyone is further shocked, and Happy and Natsu happily try to hug her, but Erza stops them and states that Lisanna died two years ago. Lisanna then explains the truth to everyone about how Anima absorbed her when Mirajane tried to heal her, and that after waking up in Edolas she found Edolas Fairy Tail. There, everyone mistook her for her Edolas counterpart who was said to have died after falling from a high place, and Edolas Elfman and Mirajane were overjoyed to see their "sister" alive again. Lisanna explains she would have felt bad if she told them she wasn't actually the sister they knew so she just pretended all that time. After Lisanna explained to them about her time in Edolas, they take her to where her true siblings, Mirajane and Elfman, are in the cemetery at Kardia Cathedral. The three Strauss siblings are happily reunited, which made Lucy and the others, including the normally gruff and aloof Gajeel. With the whole Edolas ordeal finally over, Lisanna returns to the Guild with her friends and siblings, where the other members greet her warmly and happily. They even begin a celebration for such a miraculous event. This celebration, however, quickly turns into a brawl when Gajeel tries to get the Exceeds to fight one another, but accidentally starts one between the members instead. Lucy is truly happy for the Strauss', and for her guild, but at the same time is sad and hollow because the reunion of the three siblings is something that she will never have, in this lifetime anyways, with her mother._

* * *

 _The guild grows excited at the announcement of the annual S-Class Mage Promotion Trial. Makarov states the venue: **Tenrou Island** , Fairy Tail's Holy Ground, and the eight participants: Natsu Dragneel, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Elfman Strauss, Cana Alberona, Freed Justine, Levy McGarden, and Mest Gryder. Makarov continues to explain that only one of those eight will become an S-Class Mage, and that each participant needs to have a partner that isn't an S-Class Mage. Soon, Carla sees a vision of Natsu and Cana crying, a lifeless hand on the ground, and the face of a young man with black hair. Each of the nominated participants chooses someone to partner with: Natsu and Happy, Gray and Loke, who had promised Gray that they would be partners should one of them be selected for the S-Class Mage Promotion Trials, Juvia and Lisanna, Elfman and Evergreen, Freed and Bickslow, Levy and Gajeel, and Mest and Wendy. That day Lucy returns home only to find Cana in her bathtub; Cana asks Lucy to join her, which she reluctantly does, and the two talk for a while. The next day Lucy is walking home and notices someone passed out in an alleyway, when Lucy nears the person she is shocked to discover that it is Cana, and that there are several empty bottles of Sake lying all around the brunette. As it is cold and snowing Magnolia, Lucy, with the help of one of her spirits, brings Cana back to her place where she warms the girl up with blankets and hot tea. But Lucy has noticed that since the Trial announcements Cana has been really down, and asks her brunette friend about it. Cana explains that this will be the 5th time she has participated in the Trials, and that if she fails this time she will quit the guild. Cana further explains how Gildarts is actually her father, though he doesn't know that, and that she hopes that if she can make it S-Class she will finally have the courage to confront him, and that he will be proud. Lucy is shocked by all of this, and offers to help Cana become an S-Class mage no matter what, stating: "that with our brains and looks nothing can stop us."; this makes the brunette chuckle, and with her spirits now lifted by her blonde friend accepts Lucy's offer to be partners. One week later, the contestants go to **Hargeon Port** and get aboard a ship that will take them to **Tenrou Island**._

 _As the ship nears the island Master Makarov explains the rules of the trials, and the trials commence with everyone racing to get off the ship and to the island. Freed, the devious man that he is, set up a **Runes Barrier** in an attempt to give himself and his partner a head start. Evergreen, being team mates with Freed for so long, easily rewrites the **Runes** so that she and her partner for the trials can leave the ship, with Levy doing the same shortly thereafter much to her partner's happiness (Dragon Slayer + a ship = 1 very sickly Dragon Slayer). Once on the island each team must choose a path to take in order to get to the next stage of the trials; Natsu and Happy choose Path E as Natsu believes that Erza would be there, but they encounter Gildarts instead. Lucy and Cana are the last to arrive on the island and head through Path C only to encounter Freed and Bickslow. Meanwhile, Juvia and Lisanna encounter Erza, Elfman and Evergreen meet Mirajane, Gray and Loke square off against Wendy and Mest, and Levy and Gajeel go through the safe route, much to the Dragon Slayer's displeasure; he was really looking forward to having to fight one of the other teams or one of the three S-Class mages. Freed and Bickslow decide to lose on purpose since they owe Lucy and Cana. Erza easily defeats Juvia and Lisanna, while Elfman and Evergreen manage to defeat Mirajane by catching her off-guard. Gray and Loke easily defeat Mest and Wendy, but are having trouble remembering Mest's background. Natsu loses to Gildarts in battle, but Gildarts lets him pass when Natsu learns to accept defeat and fear. Meanwhile, Panther Lily and Carla are flying towards Tenrou Island because of their suspicions regarding Mest._ _At the gathering place of the passing contestants, Makarov announces the beginning of the second exam with the task of finding the grave of Mavis Vermilion, the first Master, within the time limit of six hours. Mest and Wendy decide to explore the island after failing the test while Gildarts, Bickslow and Freed return to the guild and Erza, Juvia, Lisanna and Mirajane rest at the camp. However, Erza begins to worry about Wendy and searches for her along with Juvia._

 _Lucy and Cana brainstorm about the possible location of the grave of Fairy Tail's First Master, Mavis Vermillion, based off the few clues they were given by Master Makarov until Lucy reaches a conclusion as to where the grave might be. Elsewhere Levy and Gajeel are ambushed by two members of the Dark Guild, Grimoire Heart, who have come to **Tenrou Island** in search of the darkest mage in history, Zeref. Gajeel engages the dark mages, and tells Levy to flee. As she runs she casts a spell, **Solid Script: Iron** , which forms the word "Iron" made of iron which will replenish Gajeel's power. Levy runs into Erza and Juvia, and they return to where Gajeel is. Upon arriving, and seeing the two downed dark mages of Grimoire Heart, Erza declares the trials on hold and fires off a Red Signal Flare to let everyone know that they are now under attack. Every one of the Fairy Tail members on the island sees the flare, but Cana attempts to ignore it. Gray and Loke interrupt, as they had been following Lucy and Cana because they knew that Lucy would be able to piece together the hints the Master had given, and state that they need to focus on the enemy attack instead of the exam. _

_A little while later Lucy, Cana, Gray, and Loke are confronted by another member of Grimoire Heart, Caprico; Lucy and Loke are surprised to see Caprico, but for a different reason. While Gray Fullbuster, Loke, Lucy Heartfilia & Cana Alberona are fighting Capricorn, Loke tells the combatants from his side to stop and tells them to go look for the other six members of the Seven Kin Of Purgatory. He reveals that Capricorn's magic could weaken humans, and as a Celestial Spirit, he is unaffected by this and can battle on par with him. He reveals the opponent to be Capricorn, who is also a Celestial Spirit. As they leave, Lucy makes Loke promise that he'll come back to her, to which Capricorn notices that something is familiar about her. After Lucy and the others leave Capricorn creates a Magic seal with two of his fingers and summons the Hero of Rubengard: San Jiao Shin, who attacks Loke in the chest with his spear. Loke asks what that was and Capricorn explains who San Jiao Shin is and how he made him his subordinate. Loke is surprised that Capricorn can kidnap and then summon the humans he kidnaps and Capricorn says that it is time for him to ask about Loke's master. Loke asks why and Capricorn responds that it is so he can make her his subordinate. He also says that he already has a hunch but there is something about the girl that he let get away. Capricorn asks about Lucy, and when he realizes that she is Layla Heartfilia's daughter, he goes berserk and summons San Jiao Shin to eliminate Lucy. However, Loke easily defeats him and the knights he summons afterwards. Capricorn reveals that he broke a taboo which left him with a goat body. Loke realizes that Capricorn has a human possessing him and that human cast a spell that would let him fuse with Loke instead. Trying to stop the fusion, Loke punches Capricorn with **Regulus** , but is too late in the end. Now fused with Loke's body, the possessor now prepares to finish Lucy off in order to become human once again. However, Capricorn suddenly strikes back with his newly-transferred **Regulus** , and the possessor, Zoldeo, is forced out of Loke's body. Zoldeo expresses his delight at regaining his original body, but fades away shortly after, as he is now a spirit without a body. Afterwards, Capricorn explains everything about his past with Layla and Zoldeo, and decides to fulfill his promise with Layla by becoming Lucy's Celestial Spirit. Lucy, who notices her keys were glowing, announces that Loke has defeated Capricorn to Gray and Cana and that Capricorn has joined them._

 _As Cana, Lucy, and Gray are walking down a path, Cana suggests that they split up to find the other members of Grimoire Heart's Seven Sins of Purgatory so that they can defeat them quicker; the trio agree with Gray going off on his own, and Cana and Lucy continuing on together. As they continued on, Cana asks Lucy about Mavis Vermillion's grave, and Lucy reveals where the grave is most likely to be. But just as she was about to finish, Cana puts Lucy to sleep, apologizes and leaves. Suddenly, Kain Hikaru shows up in front of Lucy and attempts to stomp her. Lucy, however, wakes up in the nick of time to dodge the attack. The two begin to battle, though its beginning is comical due to Kain's foolish action of letting Lucy hold Mr. Cursey, the source of his **Ushi no Koku Mairi** magic. However, upon getting his Magic doll back, the battle begins to get intense and serious, with Kain gaining the upper hand as he easily defeats Lucy's spirits._

 _Lucy is sent flying into a clearing where Natsu and Ultear are battling, and Natsu's kick coincidentally ends up connecting with Kain's face, saving Lucy from him. Natsu, Lucy and Happy reform their team in order to take down the opponents. Ultear leaves with Zeref at Kain's request as he continues to battle them, attacking Natsu with **Dodoskoi** in order to prevent him from chasing after Ultear. As Ultear leaves, she tells Kain to show them the terror of the Seven Kin. Kain swings a punch toward the ground and Natsu tumbles out of the way. While Lucy moves forward in order to help him in the fight, she suddenly becomes immobile. Kain shows her Mr. Cursey that has a strand of her hair and he reveals that he managed to pluck a strand when he chased her. He makes her do all kinds of poses, which interests Natsu and he comments that it looks pretty fun, to which Lucy replies that it isn't. Kain then uses her to pummel Natsu with attacks. However, thanks to Happy's flying abilities and Natsu's creative thinking, they are able to use Kain's doll and take control of Lucy so that she becomes a fireball of magic power, defeating Kain with an innovated technique. After Lucy and Natsu defeated Kain they decide to try and regroup with the others, and Carla returns to report to Natsu and the others about the status of the Fairy Tail members at the camp and the location of the enemy's boat. They decide to head out and regroup in order to take down Grimoire Heart while they ask Doranbolt to stall the council for time, despite his protests. As Natsu's group travels to the main camp, they feel an ominous magic power and meet the Grimoire Heart deputy himself, Bluenote Stinger. His magic is felt by all throughout the island as he makes the ground between the group's feet sink. He declares that he doesn't care about Fairy Tail or Zeref and all he wants is the location of the First Master's grave in order to obtain the Magic sealed within it. At the same time, Cana arrives at Mavis' grave and finds that it is shining brightly. Cana tries to touch the glowing grave, but it hurts her upon contact. This instigates **Runes** to materialize, stating that one of the three great magics rest within the grave, **Fairy Glitter**. Cana desperately asks whether she won the S-Class Mage Promotion Trial Test, commenting that the last 12 years were for this moment. She reveals the history of how she met her father, Gildarts, who didn't know her. After realizing how strong he was, she resolved to take the S-Class Trial, citing that if she passed, she would feel worthy enough to tell him. Her first attempts were failures and if she failed once more, she would quit. However, she remembers Lucy's declaration to help her pass the test. Her "Help Lucy" card glows. Realizing she had been a fool, Cana cries out that she never meant to betray her friends and begs for Mavis to lend her power. It's then that she is allowed to touch the grave, and a voice, Mavis Vermilion's, tells her that mistakes are something that better the heart, and bestows **Fairy Glitter** upon her. With this new power, Cana rushes over to save her friends. Cana arrives where Bluenote is and attacks with her cards, which Bluenote deflects. As Cana charges up **Fairy Glitter** , Bluenote's Magic knocks her off-balance. She then asks Natsu to distract Bluenote to buy her time to recharge again. Bluenote is disgusted by the fact that Cana got the magic he was looking for but would be glad to take it away from her by killing her. Natsu, who was still under the effect of the gravity, launches a roar towards the ground, and strikes Bluenote with it. Distracted by the attack, Cana takes the opportunity and fires **Fairy Glitter**. The attack, however, is parried onto the ground, and Bluenote further taunts her about her magic and her **Fairy Glitter**. Bluenote attempts to kill her once more, when Gildarts shows up and blasts him away. Gildarts promptly asks the others to leave, and they oblige, because staying will only get in his way. Gildarts and Bluenote commence their battle, with Gildarts gaining the upper hand._

 _Back at camp, Lucy's group arrives. After Panther Lily relays the location of the Grimoire Heart ship, they decide to split into attack and defense groups to take on the remaining members of Grimoire Heart. Team Natsu, Wendy and the Exceeds decide to make up the attack team while the rest make up the defense team. Upon entering the Grimoire Heart airship the Exceeds decide to scan the ship itself while Team Natsu proceeds to battle Hades. They battle him with everything they have, even creating a Unison Raid. At some point, they appear victorious, but Hades soon recovers, barely affected by all their attacks. He casts a spell which affects Wendy, who suddenly disappears, leaving only her clothing behind, much to the group's horror; she turns out to be fine after Horologium saves her. Hades reveals to them that he was the Second Master of Fairy Tail, though Natsu does not believe him. He is easily able to immobilize the group with his **Amaterasu** , **Chain Magic** and **Bullet Magic**. Just as Hades is about to finish Natsu off, thunder crashes through the airship as Laxus Dreyar appears. Laxus, hearing Natsu say that Hades is his grandfather's enemy, proceeds to head-butt him. Laxus is soon overpowered by Hades and transfers what remains of his power to Natsu asking him to pay Hades back for the pain that he has caused. Natsu, completely revived and brimming with lighting power, charges after Hades with multiple melee attacks, overpowering Hades, with Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar as a finisher. For a moment, they believe he has been defeated. They are proven wrong when Hades gets back on his feet and activates the **Demon's Eye.** The Exceeds manage to take out the airship's power source, the **Demon's** Eye, thus enabling Team Natsu to defeat Grimoire Heart's Master, Hades._

 _After Grimoire Heart's defeat Makarov announces that he is going to suspend the S-Class trial, much to most of the candidates' dismay. Lucy convinces Cana to confess to Gildarts about being his daughter, and Lucy drags away Natsu and Happy so Cana may be able to talk to Gildarts in private. With the three gone, Gildarts asks Cana what is wrong, having seen her sad face. Cana explains that she came to Fairy Tail to find her father, who she confesses to be Gildarts himself, surprising him as he instantly asks whose child she is, listing out all the women he has been with. Having said what she wanted to say, Cana turns to leave, saying that she is not expecting Gildarts to be part of her family and that they can return to the way they were. However, Gildarts approaches her and hugs her, realizing that her mother is Cornelia, the only woman that he really loved and the only one he married. He explains that he left eighteen years ago but never knew that he had a kid. Gildarts continues to hug her, asking for the right to love her. While the two stand in each other's arms, Lucy, Natsu and Happy watch from afar, with Lucy thinking about her own father._

 _After the happy reunion of father and daughter, they rejoin the rest of the guild and start making preparations to leave. But suddenly the members of the guild start feeling an ominous presence around them. Soon after, a loud cry of a Dragon reaches their ears, the cry of the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, Acnologia. As the Dragon approaches, Makarov orders everyone to stand back and uses his **Giant Magic** to expand himself to be able to hold back the Dragon. Everyone runs away in tears, as Makarov continues to battle the beast. The Dragon knocks him down, injuring him. He had believed it would be his end. Suddenly, the Fairy Tail Mages, led by Natsu, arrive and begin fighting the Dragon while Laxus helps his grandfather, reasoning that there was no way they could've left him behind. The Dragon repels the Mages' attacks with little effort as Gildarts realizes that it is holding back, unlike when he fought it. The Dragon quickly takes to the skies to prepare for a breath attack. In an attempt to defend themselves and their holy land, everyone joins hands just as the Dragon unleashes its attack, decimating the island and seemingly vaporizing everyone. When the attack dissipates, Zeref realizes that it is all over as the island is no more. The Magic Council tries to find survivors, with no success. Acnologia disappears once again._

* * *

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **Alright everyone. Lucy's life has so much more known about it than Cobra's so it's taking forever to write. As such I'm breaking this down into more parts. I figured that cutting it off here, the start of the 7 year time skip was a natural stopping point. Also, I didn't want to keep you all wait too much longer for this.**

 **I hope that you enjoy this, and hang around while I finish the rest; it may end up as a 3 parter. Anyways, thanks for reading, and the reviews. Keep them coming.**


	9. Chapter 9: Lucy Part 2

**Alright, my precious Fairy Freaks. So, here is the continuation of the story of Lucy reflecting on her life and the hollowness that she has felt. I hope that you enjoyed the 1** **st** **part, and I'm sorry that it took so long to get it out, but there is just so much more for Lucy than there is for Cobra. I'm also sorry for how long that was; over 21,000 words with the AN's. Anyways, here's what you came here for.**

 **DISCLAIMER: I don't own "Fairy Tail" or any of its characters or locations.**

* * *

 **Hollow: Lucy Part 2**

 **Flashback**

 _Seven years passed since the apparent destruction of Tenrou Island and the claws of Acnologia. Everyone had thought them dead, except for Lucy's father and Romeo Conbolt, a young Fire mage and son of Fairy Tail member, Macao Conbolt. During the past seven years Fairy Tail has struggled greatly due to the loss of the majority of the strongest mages, and Macao took up the mantle of Master. As everyone reminisces on that day, and how Acnologia destroyed Tenrou Island, and left a strange emptiness in the Eternano Waters. Macao gets up and starts crying, saying how Romeo has never smiled ever since that day. Just then, Blue Pegasus arrives on Christina. Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki, and The Trimens come to the ground, and after patronizing Laki, they reveal they have detected something in the Eternano Waters. Ichiya then states that Tenrou Island still exists. Based on the information received from Blue Pegasus, the guild forms a search party (consisting of Bisca, Alzack, Max, Warren, Jet, and Droy) and sets out to the Eternano Waters in an attempt to locate their missing members. However, upon arrival, the guild does not see any sign of Tenrou Island still existing. While Jet and Droy remained positive that they'll get to see Levy again, most of the members feel that they shouldn't get their hopes up. At that moment, the despondent group notices a girl standing on the surface of the ocean. As the girl lifted her hands, the waters began to rage behind her and Tenrou Island emerges from the ocean, encased in a bubble-like barrier with the Fairy Tail insignia on it. She then begins heading towards the resurfaced island with the search party chasing behind, believing that she will lead them to where everyone is. Shortly upon arriving on the island, the party finds an unconscious Natsu Dragneel buried beneath some dirt and debris, and split up to look for the others. After everyone is found, and it is explained that they have been missing for 7 years, to which many of the missing group laments; especially Lucy. The girl who had appeared standing on the water before the island emerged from the depths of the ocean appears, and is revealed to be the spirit of the First Master of Fairy Tail, Mavis Vermillion. Mavis explains that when the members who were on Tenrou Island joined hands before Acnologia's final attack, they inadvertently activated another of the great Fairy spells: Fairy Sphere. It was that spell that spared the island, along with everyone on it, but them in a state of suspended animation and that it took 7 years for the spell to weaken and dispel._

* * *

 _After the explanations, everyone boards the ship that the search party used to get to the island and returns home to Magnolia. Once back the group arrives at the building that Fairy Tail has been using as their guild hall. Everyone who remained behind are so relieved to see their missing friends back, alive and well, and in true Fairy Tail fashion begin to party. Lucy decides to follow Cana and Gildarts' example and reconnect with her father, so she heads out to Acalypha to see him only to learn that he died a month ago. With Natsu and Happy in tow Lucy heads over to the cemetery where her parents are now buried, and Lucy wonders if she really did hate her father because she didn't cry upon learning of his passing. When the trio return to Magnolia Lucy mopes by a fountain when her landlady finds her and drags her back to her house and throws her inside. Lucy is surprised to find that the place is still clean after seven years, to which the landlady replies that she kept it clean, but also took some of Lucy's clothes. She also directs Lucy to some presents on her dresser, telling that one came every year on her birthday for seven years, including one that came that morning. Lucy goes to it and sees a letter for her from her father. Reading it reveals that Jude had heard about her missing status but believed she was alright and that, despite how busy he had gotten, he really did truly love her as a daughter. Lucy cries upon finishing the letter and indeed realizes she loved him too. Natsu and Happy come by as they had found a job and invite Lucy to come along with her. The landlady tells the two to give her some time also mentioning that her father has sent her seven years of rent meaning she has her place again. But Lucy cheers up and calls for Natsu and Happy to wait up._

 _About a week after their return Lucy sits in the guild hall reading about the recent church bombings when Romeo announces that she has a visitor. Lucy looks up and sees a young woman carrying a large case, and asks her to identify herself. The girl tearfully identifies herself as, Michelle Lobster, and that she's Lucy's younger sister, stating that the Heartfilia family and the Lobster family are distantly related. When the others comment that she seems older, they theorize that this contradiction arises due to the events on Tenrou Island. When Lucy inquires as to the contents of the case the other girl carries, Michelle says that the case contains a memento from Lucy's father, as the girl had known him and was even present when he passed away. Lucy opens the case and finds an object wrapped in bandages, which she unwraps to reveal a strange mechanical gear. Natsu smells a spell on it; however Carla appears terrified upon seeing the wrapped item. Later Lucy brings Michelle to her apartment where they decide that Michelle will live there with Lucy. Lucy is overjoyed at having a living relative, and writes a letter to her deceased mother telling about Michelle coming to live with her and working at Fairy Tail._

 _The next day at the guild Natsu announces that they have a mission to take down some bandits, and despite Lucy's warnings about how dangerous it could be Michelle insists on going along to see firsthand what the life of a Mage is like. Erza comes up with a plan, and Michelle takes an active role. The plan called for Lucy and Michelle to drive a wagon into the bandit's territory and for Lucy to seduce them, but when that fails the rest of the team jumps into action and takes out the bandits leaving Michelle awed by the group's strength. After the mission Michelle suggest that Lucy hire the guild to investigate the object that her father had left her, which Lucy agrees to. Whilst Natsu and Lucy discuss the job and Carla still appears distraught by the memento, Michelle accidentally drops the gear, and it starts levitating with runes appearing on it, but since Levy and Freed are not present, no one is able to read them. When they turn to Makarov for help, he tells Lucy not to get involved, but Lucy states that she wants to solve the riddle her father has left her. While Michelle and Lucy are looking through some ancient rune books to decipher what is written on the metal rod, Erza and Gray arrive at the guild to inform Lucy that they will be going off on a job to retrieve stolen gold, but Lucy refuses, stating that she's busy. Realizing that Natsu has gone off somewhere, Erza tells Gray that just the two of them will complete the job, which makes Juvia incredibly jealous and angry. At Lucy's house, Levy manages to decipher the writing on the mechanical rod, informing them that the script is ancient Potamelian and reads "Time is etched and then chaos descends". Lucy suddenly remembers the phrase, retrieving a book from her shelf, and reading out a story about the strange destiny of a clock that had been passed on for centuries. They then find out that the rod is actually the hand of a large pendulum clock._

 _A mysterious group, known as The Legion Corps, arrives at the guild and demands that they hand over Lucy. As everyone else fights with the Legion Corp Lucy and Michelle make a break for it, but are soon chased by the Legion Corps. Lucy eventually loses the memento that her father left her to the Legion Corps, and feels really bad about it. The other plan to help Lucy get it back despite the thieves having gotten away. Team Natsu, as well as Carla and Wendy, later travel to the Heartfilia Konzern mansion, planning on searching it for some clues on the memento and the events surrounding it. In the attic, Lucy finds a picture of her mother and father and talks about it, promising that she'll buy back the mansion and restore it. Michelle and Lucy go to Jude's office and look around until Michelle finds a strange book titled "To My Daughter". The book appears to be completely blank; however Crux, one of Lucy's Celestial spirits, is summoned and tells them that, though the book has no Magic or invisible ink which could potentially be hiding some text, maybe the title itself will solve the riddle. Natsu and Happy later walk into the room to find Michelle, Lucy, Erza, Gray, Wendy and Carla trying to decipher the anagram. Carla spots the word "myth" within the letters, and they later find the words "duo" and "great". Lucy figures out that it's connected to a book called "The Two Great Myths", which leads her to a book called "Life of the Clockwork", a book she owns. She tells them that the other myth is another book called "The Key of the Starry Heavens". Claiming that there might be a message in the books, Lucy starts to search. They find the book and are attacked by members of the Legion Corps who also want the book. One of the members eventually gets a hold of the book and quickly reads it before returning it to Lucy, and the Legion members depart, but not before one of the members used his magical ability to shrink things shrinks Natsu to about 3 inches tall._

 _After their encounter with the Legion Corps Team Natsu, Wendy, and Carla return to the guild with Natsu still being shrunken. Lucy later explains that the "Key of the Starry Heavens" is about a girl who is told she can become happy if she can gather six special keys, so she goes off to collect them, but, in the end, this results in the people around her becoming unhappy, and everyone deduces that the keys actually refer to the Clock parts. Lucy then goes on to say that, as a child, she loved the book, which led her to not only discover that the locations of the hidden keys were modeled after real locations, but also the real locations themselves._

 _Everyone decides that it is best to locate the clock pieces so as to ensure their safety. So, they split up into teams. As Lucy and her team are travelling to one of the locations of a clock piece they encounter a group known as the Archaeological Society, who try to dissuade Lucy from searching for the clock pieces as the locations maybe important from an archaeological standpoint. Lucy tells them that she will not be deterred as she was entrusted by her late father with the task of preventing chaos from descending on the world. The members of the Archaeological Society are deeply moved and cease in their dissuasions, but suddenly Natsu falls off the ship that they are sailing on and the Society members jump in to save, and return him to his correct size in the process. Lucy thanks them and waves goodbye as they swim away; while the head of the Archaeological Society, who happens to be an old acquaintance of Jude Heartfilia, Lucy's father, can't help but to worry about what will happen to Lucy and her group when they reach their destination._

 _As each team searched their designated locations for the clock pieces they would run into members of the Legion Corps, who work for the Zentopia Church. It was during one of these encounters that Lucy was hit upon by the Legion member who can shrink things known as, Dan Straight, much to Lucy's displeasure and disgust; the man was an obnoxious egocentric narcissist. Lucy also had a run-in with a girl similar in appearance to one she had met in Edolas, Coco, who was injured by some falling debris. All of the teams eventually locate a piece of the clock. But it was during Lucy's team's encounter with the Legion Corps that another group who wanted the clock pieces made their presence know; the former Oracion Seis, or the Reborn Oracion Seis as they were calling themselves now after they had broken out of prison. The goal of the Reborn Oracion Seis is to bring together the pieces of the clock and bring about total chaos and destruction. As all of the pieces are now in one place the members of Reborn Oracion Seis: Midnight, now calling himself Brain II, Cobra, Angel, Racer, Erigor, and Jackpot, raise their arms and their guilds mark begins to glow on each of the clock pieces._ _Natsu, Byro and Dan, of the Legion Corps, all start charging towards them but are attacked by Brain II's_ _ **Darkness Magic**_ _, which even Dan and Byro cannot reflect with their skills; the reason is Midnight's_ _ **Reflector Magic**_ _, as explained by Jackpot. Brain II reveals that the Reborn Oracion Seis now possesses the clock as it echoes again, and his guild mates thank Fairy Tail for helping them in their quest to obtain the Infinity Clock. As he thinks back to their group's humiliation from seven years ago, Brain II orders Cobra and Racer to take care of all them. Cobra and Racer clash with the members of Fairy Tail and prove to be at a much more powerful level than them, reminiscing their first encounter with the Allied Forces seven years ago. Racer isn't using his Slowing Magic anymore and Cobra's magic mower has increased and he can now use one's voice against them._ _Erza and Gray try to attack again, but they are stopped by Erigor, who is now a part of the new Dark Guild and going by the name of Grim Reaper, as he now has the power of storms at his disposal. To finish them all off, Angel gets ready to attack. She tells Lucy that she was too inexperienced back then and that she has now obtained magic mower worthy of being called an angel. True to her word, she uses her specialized_ _ **Angel Magic**_ _that virtually destroys the building, leaving off a billow of smoke that fills the sky. Sugarboy, Mary Hughes and Samuel bear witness to it._

 _Much later, the members of Fairy Tail within the ruins, plus Lyon and Michelle, are rescued by Ichiya and taken to the Blue Pegasus Building except for Lyon, who was taken back to his own guild. As the members recover slowly, they learn that the Oracion Seis and Legion Corps could not be found during the time of the rescue. Lucy goes to visit the nearby ruins and finds Michelle there, who tells Lucy that all of this is her fault and that she never realized the horrors that the Clock piece could bring. Lucy disagrees telling her that they both share the blame and that they could not have known what would happen, and after consoling Michelle a little more, Lucy remembers the book that she has and decides to reread it back at the Blue Pegasus Building. She does so and realizes that the book specifically tells the readers not to go look for the pieces, which greatly disappoints her. Her guild mates attempt to cheer her up about it and succeed in doing so, despite Lucy knowing what they are doing. As they are returning home from Blue Pegasus the Infinity Clock sends a dark chime throughout Fiore, with the Fairy Tail Mages hearing the chime as they fly aboard the Christina._

 _Once the Mages that went after the Clock pieces are back at Fairy Tail and they discuss about the Reborn Oracion Seis being worse than they were seven years ago and well as their inability to do anything to stop them. Lucy questions her father's connection to the Clock and Erza says that right now they should focus on finding the Reborn Oracion Seis and taking back the Infinity Clock, with Gray and Natsu disagreeing on their approach of a plan. Erza notices that many of the Mages aren't there, with Max saying Gildarts and Laki are both far away, and Erza replying that in times like these, even one person can make a big difference._ _Erza is interrupted by the Thunder God Tribe who has returned from a job and everyone is surprised to see them. Everyone then explains the current situation to them and Freed adds that before he came back to the guild, he was out grocery shopping by himself and there, he saw some guards talking about two men, one who was running at a tremendous speed and the other holding a large sickle, who single-handedly destroyed a church, with Natsu realizing they were Grim Reaper and Racer. Bickslow asks Freed why didn't he tell them earlier, but Freed says that he was ignored since Bickslow and Evergreen were busy eating._

 _Somewhere outside a town, the members of the Reborn Oracion Seis except for Brain II plan on how to destroy the churches there, but Cobra dismisses it by telling that they can't waste time. The group splits up and Cobra and Angel attack a church where the Fiore guards stand protecting it. Cobra destroys the church with Sound Magic since the priest inside it was using Concealment Magic to protect himself. After they destroy the church, they start talking and Cobra says that all he needs is "her", and that hasn't changed now. Back at the guild's infirmary, Kinana wakes up and heads to the main hall, ignoring everyone around her as she takes a fork and engraves some letters into the wall. Lucy asks Kinana what she is doing, but the girl ignores her and continues, while muttering some strange words. Sometime later_ _Kinana mutters about the end of the world and Lucy guesses that she is remembering about her past, and Elfman carries her back to the infirmary while Levy examines the etchings. Levy says that the figures are ancient Potamelian, and roughly translates the figures to say that Will Neville was a Celestial Spirit Mage, and had mastered using them. Freed continues what Levy said, saying that Neville had many disciples, but after he died, his disciples' whereabouts became unknown._ _Lucy starts researching about Will Neville and finds out that he used to be a Cardinal of the Zentopia Church. However, she notices that there is nothing written about his disciples or about his Magic. Michelle says that the Key of the Starry Heavens was written by a former member of the church and that Jude used the book to give a message to Lucy. Max says that if only they knew where the Oracion Seis were going to attack, then they could wait there and strike. Cana then wakes up behind the counter, whining that they are so noisy that she could not sleep for long, then offering to fortune tell for them about the Oracion Seis' location, as well as which members should go after who._ _Romeo puts up a map of Fiore onto the request board and Cana explains that she is going to find out the places Oracion Seis is targeting next, as well as who should go there. She throws the cards on the map, and the cards land at different places. Soon, Macao announces the following partners: Gray and Freed; Evergreen, Erza and Max; Gajeel and Juvia; Bickslow and Wendy; Happy, Carla and Panther Lily, and, at last, Natsu, Lucy, Michelle and Elfman. Macao complains that he is left out again and Juvia asks to trade partners with Freed or Gajeel, as she wants to be with Gray._

 _With Cana having divined the teams they set out to their designated locations to try and stop the Reborn Oracion Seis. When the team of Lucy, Natsu, Michelle, and Elfman arrive at their designated location they are confronted by R.O.S. member, Jackpot. As Natsu and Elfman prepare to fight Jackpot while Byro watches them from above. The Mages rush at Jackpot but they are attacked by his Slot Magic. Lucy points out that they must use teamwork to defeat him and she summons Cancer to help with the assault, but the three get trapped in one place by Jackpot's_ _ **Slot Magic**_ _that causes them to get burned by Natsu's attack, which leads them to start arguing with each other. Lucy is confused by this as Cana's divination is supposed to create teams with good chemistry._ _The team isn't doing very well against Jackpot's_ _ **Slot Magic**_ _, as Natsu and Elfman try to hit Jackpot but they are hit back by him before they can even lay a hit._ _When it starts raining, Lucy summons Aquarius to help Natsu, but she starts threatening Lucy instead since she was summoned from a muddy lake of water. Aquarius then attacks Jackpot with_ _ **Bubble Shot**_ _and Natsu and Elfman charge as well, but Jackpot uses_ _ **Return**_ _to counterattack Aquarius' Bubble Shot back, hitting Natsu, Elfman and Aquarius instead, which causes the three of them to fight each other. Lucy still questions Cana's divination since they are not getting along at all._

 _Elsewhere Gildarts and Laki find an unconscious and heavily bandaged girl in an Abbey; the girl's name on the medical charts say that she is, Michelle Lobster, which leads them to conclude that the Michelle Lobster with Lucy is a fake, and they contacts Warren and informs him that she and Gildarts have the real Michelle Lobster, while the Michelle with Lucy is a fake. At the same time Vijeeter Ecor alerts the others that Brain II is at the Kardia Cathedral, and no one is there to stop him, however Alzack and Bisca decide to go, vowing to defend the church. Warren then tries to inform Natsu, Lucy and Elfman about Michelle, but is unable to reach them due to Elfman having the card in his pocket while still unconscious._

 _During their battle, Natsu attempts to attack Jackpot again, but he uses_ _ **Super-Hot Punch**_ _to strike first. Jackpot then realizes that he forgot his important mission and he dismisses his battle with Natsu, running to the closest church near him. Jackpot confronts the Fiore Guards and he attacks them with Bomb-drop Bonus, also blowing up the church, which enrages Byro._ _Jackpot uses_ _ **Slot Magic**_ _to use_ _ **Anti-Link activate**_ _, that makes a dagger made of red crystal appear, which directly hits on the destroyed church. Byro then demands to know what Jackpot did, but the latter says that it is something that should not concern him as it has nothing to do with his mission. Natsu suddenly appears and attempts to hit Jackpot again, and he tries to activate_ _ **Lightning Bonus**_ _to avoid the attack, but ultimately fails to protect himself due to Byro's_ _ **Nullifying Magic**_ _, which allows Natsu to land his first direct hit, followed by various Dragon Slayer techniques, first destroying the_ _ **Slot Magic**_ _machine and then Jackpot himself. After that, Natsu and the others witness the true form of the Infinity Clock, Byro reveals that he has a duty to take Lucy back to Zentopia Cathedral, but Lucy tells him that the current situation is more important than any mission. A staff then comes out of the slot machine, revealing himself to be Klodoa, which surprises Natsu and Lucy. Klodoa claims himself to be the seventh member of the Oracion Seis from before, and Lucy concludes that the Reborn Oracion Seis is one member short. Klodoa turns to Michelle and tells her to dispose of her temporary form and reveal her true name, which shocks Natsu and Lucy. Lucy concludes that Klodoa is trying to confuse them, but a teary eyed Michelle apologizes to Lucy before transforming to her true form; she reveals herself as Imitatia, a member of the Reborn Oracion Seis and mistress of mimicry and deception. Natsu is enraged that Michelle made a fool out of Lucy, who is in denial, thinking that "Michelle" is being controlled by Magic and she walks close to her, but Natsu pushes her away. When Natsu attempts to hit Imitatia, he pauses when Lucy cries out not to attack her, which causes Natsu to get hit by her attack and be knocked unconscious instead. Imitatia then tells Byro to take Lucy to Lapointe, but the man refuses to do so._ _Imitatia then throws the seal of the Archbishop to Byro, stating that her orders are the Archbishop's and they cannot be ignored, and Klodoa tells Imitatia to dispose of Natsu, but she instead takes him as a hostage. Klodoa reminds Imitatia that she should not have mercy, while Byro summons Kanaloa who appears and grows. Imitatia replies that she already knows, and then pulls out a sword from her shield and knocks Lucy unconscious with the back of it, while Klodoa wonders where Elfman is, thinking he has ran away. Instead, Elfman is hiding behind a nearby rock, holding Warren's communication card._

 _Later, at the Fairy Tail guild, news has gotten out to the others of Lucy and Natsu's capture and Michelle's true identity. When Elfman tries to blame himself for what happened, Cana wipes it aside, stating that her cards never predicted Brain II's appearance at Kardia Cathedral, and that her pairings for the teams had been set up by the enemy. Before the group can decide what to do next, the Archaeological Society arrives, asking to see Lucy, with some important things to tell her regarding the thing in the sky, but upon being told of Lucy's fate, they decide that the seriousness of the situation allows them to tell everyone. The leader of the society, Jean-Luc, then steps forward, revealing himself to be Will Neville's great-grandson. Ignoring the surprised reactions of the guild, he goes on to say that he is on good terms with Lucy's father, and dedicated his life to make sure that the Infinity Clock stayed sealed away. He explains that a while back he received word that the hand of the Infinity Clock had been uncovered during an excavation, but by the time he heard, the part had already fallen into the hands of Jude Heartfilia, who he immediately went to meet. Upon finding him, Jean-Luc made sure to wrap the hand in Magic Cloth to seal its Magic, and then had Jude promise to find a place to keep the hand sealed away forever._ _Figuring out that this task was the reason Jude sent the hand to Lucy, the guild asks just how dangerous the Infinity Clock is, with Jean-Luc replying that the Clock activates "Real Nightmare", something that controls people's perception of time, distorting one's memories and leading to their consciousness breaking down, which in turn makes the person lose all sense of self. Jean-Luc requests from Fairy Tail to take this job and stop the Infinity Clock, and they immediately accept it, vowing to save Lucy and Natsu as they do so._ _Concurrently, Klodoa brags about Brain II and Imitatia's power and deception in front of Lucy, who has been hung on a huge mechanical device. Upset, Lucy asks Michelle how she could betray her, though the woman replies that she is not Michelle, and asks Lucy to stop referring to her as such. Brain II reveals to Lucy that once she is sacrificed, she will sleep for a hundred years, with her being appalled that they use people as tools. Lucy tells Imitatia how glad she was when she met her, and Imitatia tells Lucy that she is doing this for her and that the time spent with her wasn't a lie. When Lucy asks Imitatia about her father, Imitatia looks down and she tells Brain II to get started with the operation._

 _Jean-Luc explains that a biological link between Celestial Spirit Mages was keeping the Infinity Clock sealed, with the group confirming that the Reborn Oracion Seis' goal was to use Anti-Link to destroy said bond. However, he also explains that a Celestial Spirit Mage hit with such a spell goes into a chrysalis-like state for one hundred years. Brain II, also explaining this to Lucy, states that should she be sacrificed and go into this state, the Infinity Clock will finally be theirs to command. Lucy screams that she does not want to be used in such a way, though Imitatia tries to point out that she was in a similar state when sealed in Fairy Sphere on Tenrou Island, but Lucy disagrees saying that seven years is much less than one hundred, and that everyone those Celestial Spirit Mages knew will be dead after such a long time. Trying to appeal to Imitatia, Lucy states that she was happy to meet her, though after the two argue over the truth of their relationship, Klodoa interrupts and asks for his plan to be put into action._ _Glad that Fairy Tail has agreed to help them, the Archaeological Society presents Erza with a giant magical hammer which was found along with the Clock hand and which is said to keep evil at bay, with Erza being skilled enough to use it. As the Fairy Tail Mages are wondering how they are going to take the enemy base, Cana tells everyone not to worry, drawing out her cards and smiling._

 _The members get ready to strike when Cana's reinforcements arrive in the form of Ichiya and Christina, which Cana justifies by reminding everyone that they need to get into the air. However, when everyone gets on board, Christina is hit on the bow and begins to descend. Offering to check out what has happened, Mirajane and Elfman run on the deck, only to discover that the hull is being destroyed by Racer, who is ramming at full speed through it. Vowing to protect everyone, Mira activates Satan Soul and tackles Racer from the ship towards the ground. Seeing her fall, the guild asks Ichiya to steer Christina after her, but Elfman convinces them that Mira can handle things by herself. Mirajane struggles on the ground trying to prevent Racer from getting back up into the air, and, in order to buy the group enough time to escape, she activates Demon Halphas to increase her own speed and power even more. Watching all of this from the ground, the guild members that stayed behind hope for the group's safe return, before Jet runs out of the hall and declares that Kinana is missing. The woman is then running towards a certain location, as she claims that she can "hear somebody calling her"._

 _Meanwhile, Ichiya and the Fairy Tail members aboard Christina are on their way to the Zentopia Church to rescue Natsu and Lucy. Happy has faith that Natsu is safe and that Lucy should be too. While the Fiore Guards attempt to fire at the Infinity Clock using Lacrima cannons, though their attacks rebound due to the effects of_ _ **Real Nightmare**_ _, which is witnessed by those on Christina. Suddenly, they begin to experience similar effects because of it with Erza is the only one without change. She wonders why and summons her new Magic Hammer, which she uses to hit everyone with and each one of them returns to normal within a few seconds. At the same time Gildarts and Laki sneak into the Archbishop's room using Laki's_ _ **Wood Make Magic**_ _, expecting it to be heavily guarded, but surprisingly he's alone in his room, sitting on his bed. They reveal themselves to him and begin to ask questions, though the Archbishop simply repeats his speech to the pilgrims in a blank manner, and Laki realizes that someone must be controlling him. They then hear a clap and discover Lapointe in the room, who credits Gildarts for being able to make it to the room, but adds that he won't return alive; the S-Class Mage takes it as a challenge opportunity._

 _In the meantime, Racer begins to recall memories of his past in the Tower of Heaven just from reading his opponent's movements; frightened, he attempts to flee. A chase ensues which eventually leads to Racer enhancing his speed and taking more control of the fight, creating visual duplicates of himself and attacks Mirajane multiple times. However, she is able to catch the real Racer and ram him into the ground with tremendous force._ _Though heavily injured, Racer gets up and wonders how she can be faster than him and Mirajane explains to Racer what he's been doing to himself, which is causing him mental pain. Racer realizes that he wasn't being fast, rather, he was always running away. While returning to her normal self, Mirajane states that she herself has been running away from a certain fear in the past. As she speaks more of her past, Racer finally stands straight and starts walking away, and Mirajane adds that no one is going to chase him anymore, which causes him to cry._ _Kinana still looks for the person who is calling her, while Brain II orders Cobra and Angel to stop the Fairy Tail Mages, since Racer has failed._

 _Christina finally reaches the Zentopia Church and the guards start firing at it with their spheres, but they are no match for Christina so Byro sends out Kanaloa to attack it. Kanaloa attaches its tentacles to the ship and the Fairy Tail members try to remove them unsuccessfully. The octopus then uses its acid breath to melt various parts of the ship, worrying Ichiya that the incident seven years ago would occur again. He fires spiral anchors from Christina that turn into chains, restraining Kanaloa to Christina, telling everyone to leave while he deals with Kanaloa alone, though everyone refuses to do so as first, but as they have no other choice, everyone jumps down from Christina, leaving Ichiya behind. The aircraft crashes on the ground, while an assured Erza says that no matter how dangerous the circumstances are, Ichiya always manages to survive._ _Gildarts and Lapointe prepare themselves to fight but are interrupted when Natsu and Coco arrive. Lapointe recognizes that Coco has escaped her cell as well and that Natsu is a_ _ **Dragon Wizard**_ _. Natsu in return smells Lapointe and recognizes the scent to be the same as "Master Zero's", shocking the others. Gildarts adds that whoever he is, he is mind-controlling the Archbishop and then informs Warren through_ _ **Telepathy**_ _that Cardinal Lapointe is mind-controlling the Archbishop and the latter explains this to his guild mates, and, unknowingly to him, to Byro Cracy as well, which infuriates him._ _Natsu says that if he is the one controlling the Archbishop, then he is also the one who used "Michelle" to trick them. Lapointe briefly converses with Natsu and Gildarts on the subject and then uses_ _ **Darkness Magic**_ _to restrain Laki and take her as a hostage, telling the other two Mages to fight each other, if they do not want Laki to die. This angers Natsu and Gildarts, but before the two can react, Byro appears, nullifying Lapointe's Magic and thus saving Laki. Using this moment as a distraction, Gildarts uses_ _ **Crushing Evil, Spreading the Truth: Empyrean**_ _on Lapointe, sending him flying._

 _Meanwhile, inside the Infinity Clock, Imitatia informs Lucy about her friends' arrival and adds that because of her, they shall die. Imitatia then says that the Celestial Spirit Mage belongs to her, and that no one else should ever have her. With Cardinal Lapointe being defeated with the cooperation of Byro and Gildarts. The Fairy Tail Mages who arrived with Christina, the Magic Bomber, reunite with Gildarts, Natsu and Laki, only to witness a defeated Lapointe say that his ultimate goal is to sink the world into chaos and return it to how it used to be before Zentopia was founded._

 _Lucy learns from Imitatia, Klodoa and Brain II that the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _was sealed away by Celestial Spirit Mages, meaning that only by using the magic power of such a Mage will anyone be able to control it. Before disappearing completely, due to being a result of_ _ **Personification Magic**_ _that was controlled by Zero's hair rather than a human being, Lapointe reveals that the only way to stop the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _is to eliminate the Celestial Spirit Mage that is used to control it._ _Byro, along with the other Legion members, are convinced that there is no other way to save the world, so he is determined to find and dispose of Lucy. Natsu tries to stop him, but is easily overwhelmed by Byro's strength, so Gildarts steps in to settle the score and orders the other Mages to hurry and find Lucy while he fights Byro. However, Samuel is the first to act, having overheard the whole conversation, and decides to find and dispose of Lucy, as the fate of the whole world is more important than the life of a single girl, managing to leave the Fairy Tail Mages behind thanks to Byro's Magic. Gildarts then allows the other Fairy Tail Mages to follow Samuel as well, as he is able to prevent Byro from stopping them. When the two opponents are left alone, they decide to settle the score with physical strength rather than Magic._ _Fairy Tail divides into three teams in order to find Lucy. Laki, Warren, Happy, Carla and Panther Lily go along with Wendy, who tries to heal the Archbishop with her Magic, only for her efforts to go in vain, as Midnight's spell is proven to be stronger, although Wendy remains hopeful that she can heal him without damaging his brain. Meanwhile, Samuel arrives to the core of the Infinity Clock to dispose of Lucy, but Imitatia immediately realizes his intentions and easily defeats him, protecting Lucy from any harm, declaring that now the tables have turned and Legion will try to kill her, while Reborn Oracion Seis will be protecting her. Even though Samuel is injured, he still wishes to fight, remaining loyal to Byro until the end._ _Coco leads the group consisting of Natsu, Gray, Erza, Elfman and Gajeel to the Infinity Castle. Meanwhile, Lahar and Doranbolt, as well as the Rune Knights, do their best to protect as many people as possible from the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _'s influence by moving them into a barrier of runes._

 _The Archbishop is freed from mind control, as Wendy finishes her healing spell, clearly weary from the effort. This leads Happy to understand that, if Fairy Tail defeats all the Reborn Oracion Seis members, the Infinity Clock will be deactivated, as in order to activate it the six Dark Guild members had to engrave their seals on it, including Imitatia, when disguised as Michelle. Thanks to Warren's telepathy, this message reaches the Fairy Tail members going after Lucy, who are now determined to defeat Reborn Oracion Seis and save both their friend and the world._ _A confident Erza is pitted against Cobra, as the latter wishes to face her, allowing the other Fairy Tail members to continue on their way. When the group meets Angel, Gray is the one to step up against her, promising her that this time he will put up a better fight than he did on their last encounter. Finally, Gajeel decides to fight against Brain II and Klodoa alone, much to Natsu's frustration, as the fire Mage wished to fight Brain II himself. Elfman carries an unwilling Natsu to move on and so the Fairy Tail Mages, along with Coco, continue their way towards the core of the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _._ _The fights, however, do not all go as planned. Sugarboy appears to defeat Erza since he thought that the Reborn Oracion Seis are still working for the Zentopia Church, but Cobra easily defeats him using his Sound Magic, allowing the two to continue their duel. In addition, although Gajeel is able to fight on par with Brain II for a while, he is ultimately defeated and sent flying, as the latter mentions that he is in a hurry._

 _Gildarts, who has just defeated Byro, after witnessing his level of strength, attempts to save Gajeel from falling, but fails, which results in both of them falling from the Zentopia Church. Natsu finally picks up Imitatia's smell, and he, along with Coco and Elfman, follows the trail and finds Lucy. However, Imitatia declares that she will let no one go near Lucy and prepares to fight the other Mages, drawing her sword, as Lucy watches._ _Natsu, Elfman and Coco try to get to Lucy, whose body is still being absorbed by the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _, but Imitatia refuses to let them go near her. She says she'll protect Lucy and that it's best for Natsu and the others to go, as this way, their lives will be spared. Natsu says that he and Elfman should fight Imitatia while Coco rescues Lucy._

 _In the Fairy Tail building, Makarov drives off the powers of_ _ **Real Nightmare**_ _so that it doesn't affect anyone in the guild. The rest of the guild members are either researching the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _with Jean-Luc Neville and the Archaeological Society or otherwise searching for Kinana. Meanwhile Macao and Wakaba discuss the responsibilities of their guild mates and during their conversation, Wakaba mentions how he hasn't seen Romeo lately, though Macao says it's because he's growing up. As they talk, Romeo is outside the Zentopia church and looks at the Infinity Clock, telling Natsu and Lucy to wait for him._ _As Coco unsuccessfully tries to rescue Lucy, Natsu and Elfman begin their battle against Imitatia. However, the Dark Mage easily maneuvers through their attacks, stating that pain and other "silly" emotions cannot affect her in any way, but Natsu doubts that argument. Subsequently, she resumes her battle against the two Fairy Tail Mages, who are then accompanied in the fight by Coco._ _Happy and Panther Lily are unsuccessful in locating Lucy, which upsets Happy as he worries about what Samuel plans to do to her. Simultaneously, Samuel scales the Infinity Clock in his Battle Form, thinking back to what he plans to do now for the sake of the others. Jean-Luc Neville exclaims that he, along with Levy and Freed, has deciphered the secret of Real Nightmare, explaining that the only way they can stop it is by removing the carved seals on the Infinity Clock which will negate the owners' rights to belonging such an artifact and Levy, Macao and Wakaba are impressed by the accuracy found in Happy's theory. Makarov then speaks up, saying that there are now only four members of the Reborn Oracion Seis left for them to defeat._ _Erza starts her fight against Cobra, whose Sound Magic remains effective against the S-Class Mage. Throughout their battle, Erza speaks of how she can hear the voices of her friends, and that their voices are what drives her forward to win but Cobra describes her words as "grating" and pushes their fight to the outside of the Clock. Out in the open, Erza asks Cobra why he wants to bring despair to people in the same way that he felt while in the Tower of Heaven, and he responds that he could care less, adding that he has no friends, while Erza is surrounded by them. Erza mocks him for his envy and the two resume their battle._

 _Lucy's body is finally absorbed whole by the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _, and she sinks down into the depths of it. Meanwhile Warren, Laki, Wendy and Carla are informed of Jean-Luc's news and discuss it briefly and as they do, Wendy says she suddenly feels turmoil within the sky with Carla theorizing that it's because the effects of_ _ **Real Nightmare**_ _are beginning to weaken. Wendy's intuition tells her, however, that the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _is actually struggling to stay active._ _While Natsu is fighting Imitatia and witnesses Lucy losing her mind, he tells her to get a hold of herself, but Brain II appears, along with Klodoa, and tells him that she will soon be completely absorbed by the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _. Meanwhile, Lucy recalls her birthday as a child and searches for Michelle inside her memories, but remembers that the one who appeared to her as Michelle was in fact Imitatia, leaving her confused._ _Warren's group learns that Lucy will soon be consumed by the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _unless the Reborn Oracion Seis is defeated, so Warren contacts all of the Fairy Tail Mages, asking them to hurry and defeat the Dark Guild. Cobra notices Erza's haste to defeat him in order for his seal to be erased, and tells her that it is impossible, since he, like the rest of his teammates, has abandoned something important to him in order to get stronger, giving him enough power to defeat his opponents._ _At the same time, Romeo, who has arrived at the Infinity Castle, is noticed by Warren, and reveals that he was hiding inside Christina all along in order to help them. Despite Warren's doubts about the young Mage being there, Wendy leads him to the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _in order for him to save Lucy, and at the same time Warren asks Happy and Panther Lily to arrive at the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _before Samuel._

 _While Warren communicates with the other Mages, Byro appears at the location of Wendy's group and asks about the Legionnaires' whereabouts, only to be told by Laki that he now has no reason to want Lucy dead, as the defeat of Reborn Oracion Seis will have the same effect on the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _. At the same time the Archbishop regains consciousness and announces that while he was being controlled he was able to hear the thoughts of the Dark Guild's members and thus knows how to halt the procedure of Lucy's absorption by the Clock._ _Natsu tries to bring Imitatia back to her senses by telling her that she should also consider Lucy's feelings about wanting to stay with her for eternity. Brain II, however, reminds Imitatia of her wish, motivating her to attack Natsu, but Romeo appears and saves the Dragon Slayer. Romeo attacks Imitatia, telling her that she betrayed both Lucy and himself and has no right to call Lucy her sister, but Imitatia, determined to realize her wish, fights back and defeats Romeo, enraging Natsu, who promises to beat her and save Lucy, before figuring out her identity._ _The fight carries on, with a determined Imitatia overpowering Natsu, but their fight is interrupted, as Samuel suddenly appears and attempts to assassinate Lucy. However, Coco gets in his way and tells him that he will have to kill her first if he wants to get rid of Lucy. A reluctant Samuel attempts to tear them both apart, but is halted by Happy and Panther Lily. Happy tries to bring Lucy to her senses, while Panther Lily begins yet another duel with Samuel, while Lucy says to herself that though she can hear them all she cannot react to their calls. After Natsu sees tears falling from Lucy's eyes, signifying her will to fight, he powers up and prepares to fight more seriously, although Brain II says it is too late to do anything._

 _Meanwhile, Cobra reveals that revenge is important for him in order to be able to look at his friend, Cubellios, in the eye when they meet again, and overpowers Erza. At the same time, the Archbishop reveals both to Fairy Tail and to Legion that everyone should cooperate for now in order to halt the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _and destroy the chains linking it to the Earth. Hearing this, Samuel apologizes to Panther Lily and decides to have a contest with the other Exceed about who will destroy the biggest number of chains. Natsu also says that now they can save Lucy, but Brain II replies that their chances of victory are slim._ _Cobra, decides to go all out and activates his Poison Dragon Slayer Magic, assaulting Erza with his_ _ **Poison Dragon's Roar**_ _. She, however, blocks them with what she calls an ancient holy weapon, and, using it, she manages to destroy the chains under Cobra's feet and also attack him. Meanwhile, the Fairy Tail Mages, along with the revived Legion members, all do their best to destroy as many chains as possible and weaken the clock. Kinana, feeling that the one speaking to her mind is close, runs towards Cobra, and he is able to listen to her, which distracts him and gives Erza the opportunity to defeat him with a powerful attack of her weapon, sending him flying to the Earth, with Kinana, who is looking forward to meeting him, running after him._

 _Lucy, having lost her consciousness, announces that another Reborn Oracion Seis member has been defeated, leaving only two of them, and Natsu is now confident that he will save Lucy if he defeats the two Mages in front of him. Brain II, however, promises to realize his father's dream, which was to destroy everything, and attacks Natsu with his_ _ **Reflector**_ _. Brain II then reveals to everyone that Lucy cannot be saved anymore, since she will soon be fused with the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _and erased from everyone's memories. Imitatia, realizing she has been tricked and that this is not what she wanted, runs to Lucy, shunting Coco and Happy from her way, and desperately attacks the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _, trying to set Lucy free and apologizing in the process, which wakes Lucy from her slumber and helps her remember._ _However, Imitatia's attempts are in vain, as Brain II reverts her back to her normal form, saying he has no more use of her. Imitatia transforms to a doll, with her last words being "Nee-san, I'm sorry, I love you", which in turn triggers Lucy to finally remember that Imitatia was her doll, which she thought of as her little sister when she was young. Brain II steps on the doll, insulting Imitatia, and Romeo, furious at Brain II, throws his_ _ **Purple Fire**_ _to Natsu, who punches the Reborn Oracion Seis leader and promises to him that he will never laugh at other people's pain again._

 _Lucy floats inside the abyss of the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _, crying as her younger self as she remembers now that Imitatia was none other than her doll as a child and beside her, the doll Michelle thanks her for finally remembering. Outside the core of the Clock, Natsu hastily tries to defeat Brain II in order to free Lucy, but the Dark Mage states that his father's will shall soon be recognized. Also trying to help are those outside the church, cutting the chains linking the ship to the ground to try and slow it down. However, as they work, they comment on how long they are taking, worried that they are not doing enough to assist._ _Elfman and Romeo stand despite their injuries and move to assist Natsu in defeating Brain II, but the Dark Mage does not want them to interfere, and sends Klodoa to take them on whilst he handles Natsu alone. Reflecting every fire attack Natsu sends at him, Brain II declares that he cannot be beaten, as he has sacrificed everything to obtain the Magic Power to surpass his father. He then casts_ _ **Genesis Zero**_ _, screaming for Natsu to be consumed into nothing, laughing as Natsu is engulfed by the darkness of the spell and swallowed up._

 _Lucy, who despite Coco and Happy's attempts to free her, has been consumed by the golden liquid of the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _. Floating into the Clock, Lucy suddenly hears the voices of her parents, and remembers the day they gave her the doll, Imitatia, as a birthday present. From behind her, the human form of Imitatia appears, adding to the memory by stating that she had so much fun playing with Lucy every day. Lucy then remembers the reason why she and the doll stopped being together; when Layla Heartfilia passed away, the doll served as a reminder of her mother to Lucy, and as such she slowly stopped playing and talking to the toy, eventually casting her away completely. Imitatia also shows Lucy another of her memories, in which Lucy's father apologizes to her as a doll for Lucy's abandonment, as well as confessing his own fear that he doesn't know how to assist his daughter in overcoming the loss of Layla. As Lucy cries over the memory, Imitatia goes on to explain that she was later found and turned into a human by Brain II, who brought her to life as Imitatia for the sole purpose of obtaining the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _. Lucy also learns that Imitatia did in fact assist her father before his death, recounting how she wanted to go back to the days when she felt loved, also describing her conversation with Jude just before his death. As Lucy cries, Imitatia comforts her and tells her that she can still hear the voices of her friends._ _Hearing the voices of those fighting for her, Lucy vows to do something to return to them and screams for them, the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _glowing as she struggles against it. Also fighting is Natsu, who activates his Magic inside the abyss of_ _ **Genesis Zero**_ _, trying to force himself out. As the Fairy Tail Mages present wonder on what is happening, Brain II looks down to see he has become a younger version of himself and is back to the Tower of Heaven. Realizing that he has been affected by_ _ **Real Nightmare**_ _, Brain II concludes that having full control over the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _by himself is too much for him to bear, and that the magic is backfiring on him. Just as he works out just how careless he was, Natsu breaks free from_ _ **Genesis Zero**_ _, springing forward and tackling Brain II head on. As Klodoa flees for his own life, Natsu and Brain II exchange blows, arguing over the true meaning of magic power and how it is obtained. Both spouting their own ideologies on the matter, the two clash in one huge attack._

 _Meanwhile, as Warren, Wendy and Carla run throughout the Infinity Castle, Warren is contacted by Levy at the Fairy Tail guild who, along with the Archaeological Society, learns some important information on the Clock._ _Whilst Warren stands in shock, Natsu and Brain II finally conclude their fight, with Natsu's flames overpowering the Dark Mage, his body cracking as he falls down through the Infinity Castle. Having defeated all of those who possess the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _seal, the group turns to try and retrieve Lucy, only to realize as her voice rings out through the building that she has fully merged and become one with the Infinity Castle. Before full panic can ensue though, Warren telepathically communicates to all, stating that Lucy is still not completely gone, and that Jean-Luc and the others at the guild have found a way to save her. If Lucy can undo the_ _ **Anti-Link**_ _spells cast on the Celestial Spirit Mages who were protecting the Clock, the pieces of the Clock will once again break apart and scatter as they were once before. Despite this being the way to rid the world of the Clock, the Mages soon question what will happen to Lucy in the process, and upon hearing that no one is quite sure, ask if there is a different way to set things right, though Lucy is willing to take the risk. Focusing the Magic of the Clock, Lucy with Imitatia by her side, sends out blue shooting stars across the sky to find and free those hit by_ _ **Anti-Link**_ _._

 _As blue lights shatter across the sky, Kinana finds Cobra where he landed after his defeat at Erza's hands, asking whether he has been calling for her all this time. Cobra, shocked to hear this, suddenly realizes that she is Cubellios in a human form. Before he can say anything however, Kinana asks about his eye, and Cobra confesses to having lost it in exchange for better magic power. When asked for his name, Cobra states that he is called Erik, but before Kinana can say anything further, Lahar and Doranbolt warp into the area, asking Cobra to come quietly with them, as they have already arrested the rest of his comrades. Kinana, saddened to hear this, falls to the ground and asks for Cobra's freedom, her hands glowing purple as she angrily yells at the two Council Mages. However, before she can hurt herself, Cobra stands and agrees to be taken away, denying that he was the one calling out to Kinana in her thoughts when she asks once more. When asked if Kinana is with him, Cobra states that she isn't, continuing on that she is just looking for her friend, and that she is lucky to have one. As he leaves with Lahar and Doranbolt, Kinana concludes that he was the one who talked to her, and Cobra silently confirms, the two of them smiling at the knowledge that they finally found each other._

 _Waking up on top of Kanaloa, Natsu finds out that the group has been taken from the Clock and are searching for Lucy, who they have yet to find. Panicking, Natsu sniffs the surrounding air and locates Lucy's scent, and the pink octopus takes to the air to go after her. As they fly, the group spots Lucy falling down towards the ground amongst the blue shooting stars, and Natsu desperately runs after her, catching her before she can hit the ground._ _As Lucy reminisces over the events surrounding the Clock, she returns to her father's mansion and fixes the old tattered painting she found there at the start of her journey, smiling as she spots the doll Imitatia on her lap. She also takes the doll form of Imitatia back to her apartment with her, sitting the toy on her desk alongside drafts for a book about the Clock and the adventure she had looking for her father's memento._

* * *

 _Afterwards, the mages of Fairy Tail, minus Macao and Wakaba who were invited to the Zentopia Church, and the members of the Legion Corps celebrate; although a bit awkwardly. Natsu and Dan have an eating contest, with Dan using his magic to gain an advantage. Sugarboy tries to get close to Gray, but is cock-blocked by Juvia. Coco apologizes to Panther Lily for her earlier hostility, but Lily brushes it off and tells the young girl, "that while she is not the same person he knew in Edolas she does look similar to her", which is good enough for him. But before they can continue their conversation they are interrupted by Samuel who challenges the other Exceed to a duel, which Lily gladly accepts. Gildarts and Byro share an awkward drink until Byro breaks the ice by saying that he never knew such Mages such as those in Fairy Tail existed. The two men talk about how the events of the Infinity Clock have changed their relationships so much, yet in such little time. In the meantime, Lucy has a private conversation with Mary Hughes, who gives Lucy more insight on her life prior and during her time as a Legionnaire. She reveals that the relationship between the Heartfilia and Lobster family is apparently not true, as Imitatia had claimed previously and afterwards, she begins to cry before finally apologizing for what she did to Lucy. Lucy forgives her and even asks for the two to make up. As the sun sets Fairy Tail bids their new friends, the Legion Corp, farewell; the Legion has been given the task of sealing all the remaining parts of the_ ** _Infinity Clock_** _\- which will also require an immense amount of time in order to complete it. This whole ordeal took Lucy on an intense emotional rollercoaster; and while she feels hollow inside, it's for a completely different reason than when her mother died, and returning after being missing for 7 years to learn that her father had passed away just the month before._

* * *

 _A few weeks had passed since the_ _ **Infinity Clock**_ _Incident, and life within the Fairy Tail Guild had started to return to normal; well as normal as can be given the insanity of the guild in general. As Lucy, and some of the others who had been trapped for 7 years on Tenrou Island were enjoying a relaxing day they learned that Fairy Tail currently holds the title of the worst guild in Fiore, whilst a guild called Sabertooth has claimed first during their disappearance. Almost all of the members are distraught over this, save for Natsu, who sees it as an opportunity to rise to number one again. Natsu challenged Max Alors, who uses a form of Sand magic:_ _ **Sandstorm**_ _, to see how he compares to the members who weren't trapped in_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _. Natsu is shocked that he has to resort to using his_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon Mode**_ _and_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar**_ _to win the fight. Whilst the group all watching the spar discuss their improved strength and dependence on Twilight Ogre for finances over the seven years, Gray comments that aside from monstrously powerful members like Gildarts and Laxus, the rest of Team Tenrou is not strong enough in this new world. Lucy agrees, seeing how much trouble Natsu had against Max. Attempting to seek out a way to raise their magic power, Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Happy, Wendy and Carla all go to visit Porlyusica and ask for her help, but the elderly woman chases them away. After escaping the hermit Healer's wrath they notice Wendy crying. Natsu gets angry at the old lady for scaring the child but Wendy states she isn't upset because of Porlyusica's anger, but because her voice and scent are similar to Grandeeney's. The others question Wendy's statement, but Wendy seems sure of herself. After logically suppressing the idea that Fairy Tail's medical adviser and the Sky Dragon are one and the same, the group begins to discuss what sort of connection the two could have. Before they can reach a conclusion, Porlyusica appears and states that she has nothing to hide from them, revealing that she is the "Grandeeney" of Edolas, becoming lost and stranded in Earth Land years ago. Despite saying that she has never met Grandeeney, Porlyusica admits that the Sky Dragon has talked to her through her heart with magic, and that she had compiled a stack of papers with notes that contain information on_ _ **Sky Dragon Slayer**_ _magic, which should help Wendy to become stronger. However, Porlyusica also cautions Wendy, stating that if not practiced carefully, two spells in particular,_ _ **Milky Way**_ _and_ _ **Shattering Light: Sky Drill**_ _, could destroy her body. Before parting, both Wendy and Porlyusica share a smile._

 _When the group arrives back at the Fairy Tail guild, Macao and Romeo are arguing about the participation of the Fairy Tail in the upcoming "_ _ **Grand Magic Games**_ _", a competition created in the last seven years where the winner is considered the strongest guild in Fiore, also getting a 30,000,000 Jewel prize. This motivates the missing Fairy Tail members, the group excitedly deciding to enter the competition and regain their former glory. Natsu asks Romeo when it is occurring, and Romeo replies that it will be held in three months. Despite the older members completely disapproving due to their failure in the Games in the past, Makarov confirms that they will enter and once again be Fiore's number one guild._ _Having decided that they will compete in the upcoming Grand Magic Games, the returning members of Fairy Tail decide to use their remaining time to train in order make up for being absent during the last seven years._

 _The members of Team Natsu, Juvia and Shadow Gear- Levy McGarden, Jet, and Droy- go to the beach to train, whilst other groups of Fairy Tail head to separate locations to train as well._ _That afternoon, the group splits up to train. Lucy summons Capricorn in order to help her remedy her weakness, the lack of magic during critical moments. After following Capricorn's instructions and focusing on her task, the two begin to discuss the "_ _ **One Magic**_ _," with Lucy concluding that she believes it to be love. That night, whilst the girls bathe in a hot spring, Lucy looks to the stars and vows to push herself as hard as she can to improve for her guild. During the second day of their training, the Mages notice how much their Magic Power has increased in such a short time, predicting that they may be able to stand a chance if they can keep it up for the three months they have left. Before they can continue however, Virgo appears and tells Lucy that the Celestial Spirit World may be in danger of being destroyed and her Spirits need Natsu and company to help. Agreeing to assist immediately, Virgo teleports Team Natsu, along with Wendy, Carla and Levy to the Spirit World. When they arrive, the Celestial Spirit King is there waiting for them, but reveals that he merely called them there to celebrate their return after the seven years, the group spending the next day partying with all in the Spirit World. After the festivities, Virgo moves to transport them back to the beach, and the group questions the flow of time difference between the two plains, wondering if they could train for longer in the Spirit World. Virgo however reveals the opposite, stating that they have just lost the three months they had to train, dropping the group back on the beach with only five days until the Games start. The group is very dismayed at the fact that they have lost three months of time, and have only five days left to train._

 _As everyone is moping about the lost time, Erza scares everyone by declaring that she will start a training course from hell for their last remaining days. Before she can however, a messenger bird lands on her head, the note asking the group to come to the bridge in the West Woods._ _Defensive but curious, the group head to the bridge and cross it to encounter three cloaked figures waiting for them. The trio pull back their hoods to reveal themselves as Jellal, Meredy and Ultear, much to the group's shock. After Jellal and Erza quickly discuss Jellal's jailbreak and the return of his memories six years prior, the three reveal that they have formed an independent guild by the name of Crime Sorciere, their goal being to destroy Dark Guilds and anything related to Zeref so that people will never fall to the dark side as they once did. When asked by Gray why they just don't become official, the trio answer that due to Jellal's status as a criminal and Meredy and Ultear's connection to Grimoire Heart, being accepted by the Council is impossible. After that the trio get down to the reason they had summoned the Fairy Tail members, explaining that every year they have felt a strange Magic presence at the Grand Magic Games, and, not being in a position to go near the stadium, would like Fairy Tail to investigate for them. In exchange, Ultear offers to increase their magic abilities, explaining that she can use her improved_ ** _Arc of Time_** _to open their "_ ** _Second Origin_** _," a dormant magic container generally not used by Mages that, if opened, can allow them access to heightened amounts of magic power. However, she also warns them that the process will be incredibly painful, but the Fairy Tail Mages are more than happy to receive the help and start celebrating; that is all except Erza, who stares sternly at Jellal._ _Ultear starts the process on Natsu, who writhes around in terrible pain as the others fearfully watch. The rest of the team have taken Ultear's procedure and are all enduring it inside a small hut, save for Erza. Crime Sorciere heads off, stating they can't be in one place too long, but promising to keep in touch throughout the Games._

* * *

 _A few days later in the capital of Fiore, Crocus, and Team Natsu are still in pain from Ultear's spell, Erza scolding them for their embarrassing whining. Lucy wonders why Erza isn't in pain like them as well, with Gray suggesting that she probably already had her Second Origin to begin with. Makarov, Bisca, Alzack, Asuka, Jet, Droy and Levy soon find the group, with Makarov encouraging the Mages to do their best despite the snide comments they keep hearing from passing people about their weakness. Lucy recalls how only five members of the guild are selected to enter the tournament, being surprised that Makarov chose Erza, Gray, Natsu, Wendy and herself. When they ask why the master doesn't put in stronger members, he replies that none of the other Fairy Tail members have returned. The group then goes over some of the rules of the tournament, Levy reading the rule book and telling everyone the most important rules, which include the guild master not being able to participate, only members of the guild being able to participate, each event being a secret until the competition, and the rule that all members must be in their sleeping quarters by 12:00AM._

 _Given the amount of time they have before needing to be back at their accommodations for the start of the Games Lucy, Natsu and Happy then run off to explore Crocus whilst Erza goes to their sleeping quarters, Honey Bone Lodge, and inspects the place for anything suspicious._ _Natsu, Lucy and Happy notice a fight going on in the middle of a street and realize it's the Twin Dragons of Sabertooth, Sting and Rogue, whom they had so much about since their return. The two Dragon Slayers recognize Natsu, while Frosch and Lector surprise Happy by being Exceed. Together, the Sabertooth members begin to berate Natsu, stating that they could have easily defeated Acnologia and bragging about their status as "Third Generation Dragon Slayers," Dragon Slayers who were both taught by Dragons and whom contain a Dragon Slayer Lacrima. When Natsu asks if their Dragons also disappeared in X777, Sting and Rogue reveal that they slaughtered their Dragon parents, deeply angering him._ _When Team Natsu finally returns to Honey Bone Lodge, Erza scolds them for being late, however Natsu can only think about his encounter with Rogue and Sting and their threat to show him "true Dragon Slayer power" in the tournament. Erza then asks where Wendy and Carla are, and everyone begins to worry about Wendy and what she might be doing, stating that she is too young to be out so late. They consider going out to look for her, but remember the rule about having to be in their lodge by midnight. Before they can reach a decision on what to do, Elfman and Lisanna show up, having returned from their training in the mountains._

* * *

 _The clock finally hits midnight, and the announcer for the tournament, taking the appearance of a giant pumpkin-man, greets all the guilds as he floats above the city. He declares that a preliminary event will begin to reduce to total number of guilds participating from one-hundred and thirteen to eight. Lucy immediately notes that there is no way one-hundred thirteen guilds exist within Fiore, and Erza also questions the set-up of the tournament and the organizers. The announcer describes the event, the goal of the preliminary round being to get all 5 participating group members to Domus Flau, any form of Magic or technique being acceptable to achieve this. Stating that only the first eight teams will pass, the whole city then changes into a huge maze ball that floats in the sky, the announcer declaring Sky Labyrinth to begin._ _Erza quickly points out that Fairy Tail only has four participating members currently present, as Wendy is missing, but Elfman volunteers to temporarily fill in. As they run into the labyrinth, Erza calls out for Lisanna and Happy to search for Wendy. Once inside the maze, after an encounter with the members of Team Twilight Ogre, various rotations of the playing field and several wrong turns in the maze, the team realizes that if they steal the maps of the other teams, they can piece the maze together. After defeating several guilds, Fairy Tail successfully reaches the end, only to discover that they barely managed to get the eighth, and final, place for competing in the Games. This greatly depresses the team, who are still very worried about Wendy's whereabouts._

 _As the Grand Magic Games begins at last, and in their preparation room, Team Fairy Tail talk about the large crowd and their uniforms before coming to Wendy, the young girl having been found by Lisanna and Happy collapsed on the ground with Carla. Completely exhausted, Wendy can't remember what happened and tearfully asks Elfman to take her place. Suspecting her condition to be due to a great loss of magic power at one time, Porlyusica, who arrives to treat Wendy, vows to cure her before the end of the tournament. The team leaves the crotchety healer to tend to Wendy and await the introductions of the teams who will be participating. Since they came in 8_ _th_ _, Team Fairy Tail are introduced first, but are booed by the crowd. However, the other Fairy Tail members have also come to watch and cheer over the crowd, everyone becoming shocked when Mavis also appears, claiming she was bored on Tenrou Island and wanted to watch. The other teams are then introduced with the seventh place team, Team Quatro Cerberus, arrive on the field followed shortly by the all-female guild; sixth place Team Mermaid Heel. Fifth place in the preliminaries was taken by Blue Pegasus' Trimens and one new member in a bunny suit, whilst fourth place was achieved by Team Lamia Scale. Among the team members is Sherry's cousin, Sherria. Lyon reminds Gray about their bet regarding Juvia, though Gray angrily claims that no bet was made but also that Fairy Tail will not lose regardless. The third place team is from the recently legitimized guild of Raven Tail, which is headed up by Master Makarov's son, Ivan Dreyar; this confuses Makarov as he believes that Raven Tail is a Dark Guild, though it is clarified that the Council now recognizes them as an Official Legal Guild, but Makarov still questions Ivan's intentions._ _With two more guilds set to arrive the crowd becomes confused as they believed Sabertooth and Lamia Scale to be the two highest ranking guilds. As Erza wonders if this unknown team have anything to do with the dark energy Jellal mentioned, the second team is revealed, shocking the crowd, as it is Team Fairy Tail B, consisting of Laxus, Mirajane, Gajeel, Juvia and Mystogan. Team Fairy Tail A are shocked at both Mystogan's appearance and the fact that they believed they were the only Fairy Tail team present. After the crowd expresses shock about the fact that two teams from the same guild arrived, it is explained that each guild could send at least two teams to participate, Lucy noting that this accounts for the large number of teams in the preliminaries. The commentators talk over whether this gives Fairy Tail an unfair advantage, as they have twice as many participants as the other guilds, however a conclusion is reached that the fact that Fairy Tail managed to get two teams into the finals has earned them such a privilege. Erza and the other then realize the Mystogan is actually Jellal in disguise, and he explains that once he expressed his concerns to Master Makarov he had been allowed to enter as Mystogan. Mavis too realizes that Jellal isn't actually a member of the guild, but she allows him to compete for Fairy Tail's victory. Soon after Fairy Tail Team B is announced the final team, who captured 1_ _st_ _place is introduced, and is none other than the team from Sabertooth._

 _With all of the competing teams now present,_ _the program of the tournament is announced, with the first round being an event, followed by a battle. As per the rules, the teams will earn points depending on how they place in the event, and each team may choose one member to compete. In the battles, the sponsors will have a right to choose fighting pairs, the losing fighter earning 0 points whilst the winner gets 10; 5 each in the case of a draw. The first game is announced, and each team chooses who will participate; Gray and Juvia represent Fairy Tail for their respective teams. As the game begins, and the other participants now sitting in their designated Team Box, the Fairy Tail teams watch as the participant from Raven Tail relentlessly targets their team mates, more specifically Gray. When the game ends, Fairy Tail A is dead last with Team B having managed to obtain a single point, and Sabertooth taking First place. Next was the 1 on 1 Battle portion of the day, and Lucy was to be in the first match against Flare Corona, a rather attractive girl with fiery red hair, ample bust, and wearing a red dress with slits up the sides and a deep plunging neckline that revealed her ample cleavage and the guild mark atop her right boob, of Raven Tail. The match was fairly even until Flare, using her_ _ **Hair Magic**_ _, sent a few strands into the stands to where Fairy Tail was sitting and taking Asuka Connelly, Bisca and Alzack's daughter, hostage by threatening to hurt the little girl if Lucy continued attacking._ _With Asuka as her hostage, Flare forces Lucy to not use magic, move or say anything at all, lest something unfortunate happens. Remembering what happened to Wendy and Gray, Lucy attempts to forfeit the fight, though Flare stops her by gagging her with her hair. Raising Lucy into the air, Flare decides to brand the mark of Raven Tail over her Fairy Tail mark, despite Lucy's attempts to stop her. Before she can however, Natsu discovers Asuka's danger and rips Flare's hair to pieces, allowing Lucy to summon Gemini and free herself. The Celestial Spirit transforms into Lucy to activate a Magic that they had practiced together, the two pooling their energies together to form a spell that Hibiki of Blue Pegasus recognizes instantly:_ _ **Urano Metria**_ _! However, before it is cast, the power dissipates, leaving Lucy extremely weakened. Flare realizes that her teammate assisted her from the sidelines, as does Mavis, who notes that such a thing is against the rules. When Lucy collapses, Flare is declared the victor, and an exhausted Lucy cries on the ground as the crowd boos her until Natsu comes and takes her away. After all of the matches for the day are over, the members of Fairy Tail, except Wendy and Carla who are still in the Infirmary recovering from having their magic depleted, regroup, but are hopeful that they will make a comeback and begin to party._

* * *

 _As the games progress, Fairy Tail slowly and steadily makes up for their loses on the first day with Natsu and Gajeel earning points for finishing 6_ _th_ _and 7_ _th_ _in the main event of Day 2, "Chariot", while Elfman and Mirajane both win their respective matches in the Battle portion. It was during the 1 on 1 matches that Lucy was surprised to see another Celestial mage, but what really shocked Lucy about this other mage, other than she is from Sabertooth, was that in addition to having the last two golden Zodiac Celestial keys, Libra and Pisces, she has the much rumored 13_ _th_ _Zodiac key for the Celestial spirit, Ophiuchus. After the close of Day 2 of the Games Lucy, Natsu, Wendy, Happy, and Carla are returning to their Inn when they notice someone sitting outside; the person being the Celestial mage from Sabertooth, Yukino Agria- a beautiful young woman with short silver hair, and possessing an ample bosom- who appears very despondent. Lucy invites Yukino inside to talk, and once inside Yukino offers Lucy her keys for Libra and Pisces saying that she had planned to give them to Lucy after the games but now that she is no longer participating wishes to hand them over now. When asked why she isn't participating anymore Yukino explains that she wasn't part of the "Strongest 5" of Sabertooth, merely filling in for someone named Minerva, who was away on a job. She also states that once Lucy has the 12 Golden Key, the "Gateway That Changes The World" will be opened. When Lucy questions this, Yukino cites that it is an old legend she not sure of herself. Despite Yukino's offer, Lucy politely refuses, saying that she doesn't want to cut the Spirit's bonds to Yukino, because Lucy can see that Yukino cares deeply for her spirits the same way that she does. Yukino understands and hopes they'll meet again before leaving. Natsu and Happy chase after her to apologize for their rude behavior, and upon seeing their kindness, Yukino suddenly breaks down and details her excommunication from Sabertooth to the duo. Hearing this and seeing Yukino's sadness, Natsu instantly gets upset._

* * *

 _On Day 3 of the Games, Erza and Cana, who is the alternate for Fairy Tail Team B, are chosen to compete in the day's main even, "Pandemonium". The object of the game is to defeat 100 monsters within a magically produced castle, with each participant drawing lots to determine an order and by the luck of the draw Erza is first and elects to face all 100 monsters; she easily defeats all of the monsters leaving the Games organizers to come up with an alternative to determine the placings for the other participants. The others use and MPF, Magic Power Finder- a device that measures magical power, to determine the order in which they place; Cana, who drew the last lot, uses_ _ **Fairy Glitter**_ _and scores the highest earning her team 2_ _nd_ _place and breaking the MPF machine in the process. In the Battle portion of the day Laxus is pitted against Alexei of Raven Tail, who turned out to be Raven Tail's Master, Ivan Dreyar. Ivan cast an illusion to make it appear as though Laxus was getting beat, but in reality they were talking until the rest of Raven Tail appeared in the arena. Laxus easily defeated all of them and broke the illusion. Since all of Raven Tail had entered the arena, and their Master had been a participant in disguise they were disqualified and taken into custody by the authorities. The recently recovered Wendy was picked to fight for Fairy Tail Team A against Chelia Blendy of Lamia Scale. Chelia is a young girl of about the same age as Wendy with pinkish color hair that she wears in twin pigtails, and uses_ _ **Sky GOD Slayer Magic**_ _, which is similar to Wendy's_ _ **Sky Dragon Slayer Magic**_ _. They two girls end up fighting to a draw, and as Chelia, who can heal herself, heals Wendy offers her friendship, which Wendy happily accepts._

 _After the close of Day 3 of the Grand Magic Games, Fairy Tail heads to Bar Sun to celebrate their victories of the day. But Wendy is slightly depressed about not actually winning her fight, but Carla, Panther Lily and Levy encourage her. As the party at Bar Sun winds down, Levy reveals that there is a water park nearby called "Ryuzetsu Land", and invites everyone to go with her. After they arrive, and everyone splits up to do their own thing Lucy notices Mavis in the pool, as Makarov and Laxus brought her there to cheer her up. Later as the Fairy Tail members mingle with the members of the other guilds, generally having a good time, until Flare reveals her presence to Lucy. As the Celestial Spirit Mage nervously backs away from the Raven Tail member, Flare states that since they only broke the game's rules, not the law, that they were not detained. Flare then hesitantly apologized to Lucy, before walking away, while Lucy in turn smiles at her. The park ends up closing due to excessive damages that were cause by Natsu and Gray fighting, which caused Masters Mavis and Makarov to cry over the repair bills._

* * *

 _Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games begins with the event Naval Battle, in which a participant of each team is to enter a large water sphere, and try to push the other players out. With that being said, when two participants are left in the sphere, a five minute timer will start, and whoever is knocked out within the time limit automatically gets last place. Being a water battle, Lucy and Juvia volunteered to participate in the event. As the game begins and Lucy starts off by summoning Aquarius. However, Juvia manages to counter Aquarius's attack with_ _ **Water Cyclone**_ _. Using the confusion from the collision of the attack, Jenny manages to kick Rocker out of the sphere, eliminating "Quatro Puppy" (the Quatro Cerberus Guild having to be called this for the remainder of the Games due to Bacchus Groh losing a bet in his fight against Elfman). Aquarius then disappears on Lucy claiming that she had to get back to her date, giving Juvia the opportunity to propel the Celestial Spirit Mage out. However, Lucy manages to summon Virgo and Aries just in time to stop her from falling out of the sphere. Juvia then unleashes a powerful attack which expels all the remaining players from the sphere, except for Lucy and Minerva. Juvia then glances at Gray to see what he thought of the attack she named in his honor, but is shocked when he appears appalled. She is then confused to suddenly find herself outside the sphere, due to Minerva's power. With only two remaining, the five minute timer starts, and with that, Minerva attacks, first with a heat attack to Lucy's right, and then a weighted attack from above. Lucy tries to counter but finds her keys were no longer at her hips, but in her opponents hands. Over and over Minerva continues to attack Lucy, who refuses to give up. However, instead of letting Lucy fall from the ring, Minerva continuously brings her back to attack again and again. Eventually the umpires call the event to an end, but by this stage Lucy is already bleeding, burnt and barely conscious, Minerva holding the immobile Lucy by her throat like a trophy outside of the water sphere._ _Natsu and Gray rush to Lucy's aid as Minerva carelessly drops her. They just barely manage to catch her before she hits the ground and a medical team is called out, though Wendy declares that she'll give her medical attention first, with Chelia and Jenny helping out. Natsu nearly goes to attack Minerva, but Sting, Rufus and Orga suddenly appear in between them, while Erza likewise holds Natsu and Gray back as both teams come to a tense standoff. Erza tells the Sabertooth members that she doesn't care if they're the strongest or the number one guild in Fiore, declaring that they've made a major mistake of intentionally making enemies of Fairy Tail._ _Lucy is taken the medical ward where she is healed and patched up thanks to the efforts of Wendy, Chelia and Porlyusica. As Lucy sleeps with her keys by her heart, Makarov enters the room to deliver some news. Due to the disqualification of Team Raven Tail, the games committee can't pair up the fighters of the battle portions due to the odd number of teams, thus Fairy Tail must merge into one team for the rest of the competition. When asked about the points both teams received, it was decided that only Team A points would be used, which means Fairy Tail is in a tie for third place with Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale. Gray then says that with only the Tag Battle coming up, there seems to be little point, but Porlyusica explains that after a day's break, the last day will have a game where all five members can compete at once, so the new team needs to be chosen carefully. The battle portion of the day is a Tag Team battle where two members from each team will face off in battle; the match ups for the tag battle are brought up with Blue Pegasus vs "Quatro Puppy", Lamia Scale vs Mermaid Heel, and Fairy Tail against Sabertooth. The NEW Team Fairy Tail enters the arena, with the new members being Natsu, Gray, Gajeel, Erza and Laxus. In contrast to their status of the first day's event where they were booed, the audience now fully supports the guild and cheer for the new Team Fairy Tail. Natsu and Gajeel are chosen to fight against the "Twin Dragons", Sting and Rogue, of Sabertooth. Despite the Dragon Slayers of Sabertooth using_ _ **Dragon Force**_ _and a_ _ **Unison Raid**_ _they are defeated by Natsu, who after arguing with Gajeel disposed of him in a mining cart in an underground area beneath Domus Flau faced the "Twin Dragons" alone._ _As Fairy Tail celebrates their victory, Chapati, the commentator for the Games, explains that tomorrow will be a break day, the sixth day of the Games beginning the day after, the event being a survival game involving all the team members._

 _With Day 4 of the Grand Magic Games over the guild returns to Bar Sun to continue celebrating their win, and gaining in the points standings. As they celebrate Gajeel returns from his unexpected trip into the caverns beneath Domus Flau, and leads the other Dragon Slayers, the Exceeds, and Gray and Lucy back to show them the Dragon graveyard that he found there. Wendy uses_ ** _Sky Dragon Slayer: Milky Way_** _to communicate with the soul of one of the dragons, and learn about a Dragon Civil War that occurred 400 years ago with one side wanting to coexist with humans and the opposed to the idea. The dragons that wished to coexist taught humans_ ** _Dragon Slayer Magic_** _. As the Anti-human side was on the verge of defeat a certain Dragon Slayer continued slaughtering dragons, even the Pro-human dragons; he bathed in so much dragon blood that he became a dragon himself and used his powers to nearly kill all the dragons and become the King of Dragons. This dragon none other than Acnologia, much to the shock of the group. After the soul of the dragon faded away the group mulls over the information given, with Natsu, Wendy and Gajeel especially worried if their magic will make them into dragons too. Suddenly Arcadios, Chief of the Cherry Blossom Holy Knight Squadron in the Royal Kingdom of Fiore, and Yukino appear, and Arcadios rebuffs the dragon's claim by explaining that Acnologia had help with his creation from Zeref and his book of spells. Arcadios then goes on to explain about a plan to go back in time 400 years to kill Zeref thus stopping Acnologia, but to complete this plan the 12 Celestial Zodiac keys are required. Arcadios leads the group to the Eclipse Gate that will be used to create a portal back in time, but that the plan can't be enacted until the night of the Eclipse which will be on the 7_ _th_ _of July. Before Arcadios and Yukino can ask for Lucy's assistance the Royal Guard, with the Minister of Defense, Darton, show up and surround the group. Darton is displeased that Arcadios has told outsiders of the plan and states the he will not allow the plan to be carried out. Darton then has Arcadios and Yukino arrested for treason, and Lucy as well. When Natsu objects and goes to defend Lucy with magic it is sapped by the Eclipse Gate, which absorbs magic, and falls unconscious, Darton then has the rest of the Fairy Tail mages thrown out of the castle,_ _however, Darton quickly tells them the King has taken a liking to the group, and as such, if they manage to win the Grand Magic Games, they can gain audience with him and request Lucy's freedom. The group return to Bar Sun and reveal everything to Master Makarov._ _The group mull over their options, knowing that fighting against the kingdom would be a bad move on their part, but not trusting that Lucy will be released if they win. Just as Natsu goes marching towards the castle to get Lucy, Makarov stops him, claiming they need to act wisely considering their enemy this time._ _Back at the castle and in the dungeon, Lucy and Yukino are put in the same cell. They talk, with Lucy mentioning her wariness on if the Eclipse Plan should be activated. Yukino explains her reasons for wanting to go through with it, stating that she lost her sister at a young age to Zeref's followers and hopes to change the past to get her back. Thinking this over, Lucy ponders if it is even possible to change the past. Over the course of the Free Day, Fairy Tail strategizes how they can win the games, and secure Lucy's release, while also coming up with a plan to sneak into the castle and break Lucy out._

* * *

 _The sixth day comes and Chapati announces the final event of the Games, the Grand Magic War Game. The teams are called out one by one, but when Fairy Tail steps out the crowd is shocked to see that Natsu isn't with the group, rather Juvia has taken his place. The plan that Makarov came up with is two-prong: one portion of their team will battle in the tournament normally while another team will try to rescue Lucy. As everyone's focus is on the Games, no one will have their eyes on the castle. The rescue team consists of Natsu, Wendy, Mirajane and the Exceeds make their way to the castle._ _The rescue team hear the Games beginning from afar and proceed to come up with a plan. Happy suggests wearing disguises, but Mirajane states that she has already come up with a plan of her own. As they go to put it together, Wendy wishes the tournament group good luck._ _Back at the Games, the rules of the final event, the Grand Magic Tournament, are laid out. The teams will go into the city and battle around it, gaining points for each downed member; five points if they manage to take down the leader of each team. The teams all meet in the city and discuss strategies, with Team Fairy Tail vowing to do their best, both to save Lucy and redeem their guild. Soon, the game is started, and the teams make their way through the city, save Team Fairy Tail, who oddly don't move from their starting spot, much to everyone's confusion, including their own members._ _Back at the castle, a guard brings in Natsu and Wendy tied up, telling another that they had tried to sneak in and save Lucy. They're ordered to be taken to the prison cell, but when out of sight, the guard is revealed to really be Mirajane, who had disguised herself to allow the group to sneak in. Meanwhile, another guard goes to the princess, Hisui E. Fiore, and tells her that it's a good opportunity to commence the "Eclipse 2" Plan. Natsu's group manage to find Lucy and Yukino's cell and melts the bars, freeing them._

 _The group are set to leave but Lucy wishes to get her keys back. However, the floor in the hallway suddenly opens up, dropping the group in an underground area with an archway exit. A video of Hisui pops up, the Princess telling the group that they've fallen into "Abyss Palace," where criminals do not last long. She accuses the group of being thieves and tells them they can rot in the underground dungeon. The guards congratulate the Princess on protecting the castle with the King away, but Hisui doesn't seem happy about the success. In the Abyss Palace, the Fairy Tail members and Yukino try to find a way out, with Carla managing to discover a narrow crevice path. They manage to squeeze their way through, but are met with the form of a badly beaten Arcadios on the floor. When they awaken him, he tells them to run away, as five mysterious figures appear out of nowhere and attack them one-by-one. Arcadios then reveals them to be an independent team of executors that supports the kingdom from the shadows, the Garou Knights. The ex-knight states that because of them, it is impossible to escape the Abyss Palace, while the apparent leader of the enemy claims to have orders to kill all of them._ _Natsu laughs at the group for their appearance but Arcadios warns him that they have Magic to kill efficiently. Natsu isn't fazed and prepares to battle them alongside Wendy, Panther Lily and Mirajane who order Lucy, Yukino, Happy and Carla to stay back. Two of the Knights, Cosmos and Kamika, attack first, with the group just barely managing to defend each other from the knights onslaught. Becoming excited, Kamika and Cosmos pick up the pace, unleashing even larger attacks and even paralyzing them. Wendy manages to save them and, in trying to destroy one of Cosmos' spells, Mirajane, Natsu and Panther Lily cause a huge explosion, crumbling the cavern walls and separating everyone in a landslide._

 _Natsu, Wendy, Panther Lily and Mirajane find themselves against a member of the Garou Knights, Kama, Cosmos, Neppa, and Kamika respectively, and are forced to engage in one on one combat. While Lucy, Yukino, Happy, Carla and Arcadios end up with each other, only to have to face the fisherman dressed knight, Uosuke. As Lucy and Yukino prepare to face him, Arcadios warns Uosuke always leaves only the bones of his victims._ _Elsewhere, Natsu and Kama begin fight, with Kama aiming for Natsu's head. Natsu just barely manages to keep ahead of him. The others in the rescue team find themselves struggling too: Panther Lily's opponent uses acid which he can't seem to bypass. Kamika uses green paper which produces poison forcing Mirajane to hold her breath. And Wendy is forced to dodge bombs from Cosmo's plants before she switches to a sleeping agent that Wendy seems to succumb to._

 _Meanwhile Uosuke begins his attack on Lucy's group, and cracks the ground, creating lava underneath. Lucy and Yukino avoid falling in but are barely clinging to the rocks, dangling over the magma. Happy and Carla try to rescue them but Uosuke uses his gravity powers to hold them down. Arcadios, seeing this, rushes to their aid through the lava at the expense of himself and hoist the two girls back up. As he sinks, he tells the girls to find Hisui and decide for themselves if they should activate the Eclipse plan. Lucy tries to save him but he completely submerges. However Horologium appears having saved Arcadios within his body, he's soon followed by Leo who explains he managed to come through the gate. He returns Lucy and Yukino's keys to them. Now armed, the group prepare to counter-attack Uosuke. Back with Natsu, he manages to the catch one of Kama's axes barehanded and crushes it, declaring he will send him flying now._ _After checking to make sure Arcadios is alright, Yukino begins the counter-attack by summoning Pisces who reveal they can turn into human forms, as well as showing they are a mother/son duo. As they attack, Uosuke tries to stop them with his gravity powers only to be countered by Yukino summoning Libra who negates this allowing Pisces to get a hit in. Uosuke summons water around him to knock them back, turning them into fish which Yukino reveals is their weakness (an irony that Lucy can't help but notice). But with the water setting, Lucy quickly summons Aquarius to battle._

 _Meanwhile Panther Lily battles his opponent, who continues to throw more acid his way. However Panther Lily recalls all his training with Gajeel and uses his sword to slice through the acid much to his opponents shock. With Wendy, Cosmos believes her Magic worked. But Wendy revives having used her support Magic to negate the sleeping agent before summoning her wind to blow away the plants. Meanwhile Kamika sees that Mirajane is in pain from the poison. However Mirajane states that since she's alone, she doesn't have to worry about any bystanders and can go all out. Going into her Demon form and sucking in all the poison. And finally with Natsu, who's easily beating Kama into submission._ _Kama questions Natsu if he really plans to make the kingdom his enemy but Natsu counters they should've been prepared to have Fairy Tail as their enemy and that they'll go against the whole world if it's to protect their family. All at once, the Rescue Teams deal the final blows to their opponents sending them flying through a wall and into each other, all save Kama are knocked out. The team soon regroup and celebrate as Kama is dumbfounded all of the executioners were defeated. Natsu then threatens Kama to tell him where the exit is or he'll "execute him", to which Lucy comments on him being "evil"._

 _Natsu and the rest of the rescue team search for a way out. While discussing how Arcadios survived being the lava, Loke suggests that it was his jade amulet which protected him as it can act as a talisman. Lucy and Carla add that they need to meet the princess and decide for themselves if Eclipse is right or not. Suddenly, the door in front opens and Natsu faces a person wearing a hood and asks who they are. Natsu confronts the hooded person, who begins crying. As she asks for their strength, the others take note of her voice. Subsequently, the person takes off her hood, revealing herself to be Lucy from the future. While crying, the Lucy in front of the rescue team claims she came from the future, stating she used the Eclipse Machine to do so. Before the others can question her further, she collapses, worrying the group. Deciding that they can't leave her, the group decides to take her with them as they escape and send up a flare to inform everyone else in Fairy Tail that they have Lucy. The rescue team, having gotten lost inside the massive castle, wonders about their next course of action._

 _As a worried Lucy looks over her future counterpart, she suddenly wakes up and begins wondering where she is. Learning she's inside the castle, she recalls her memory which tells her that after escaping Abyss Palace, they get captured again since they came across the Eclipse Machine and couldn't use magic, resulting in them being sent back to jail. Wendy asks her why she came to the past, to which she states that she did so to change the worst possible future, alarming the Mages._ _The rescue team wonders what could be behind the upcoming events while Natsu tries to pick up weapons to fight. Carla suddenly recalls her vision and realizes that, in it, Lucy was screaming rather than singing. Asking what happened to them in the future, Carla is met with silence, which the others interpret as meaning their death. The future Lucy explains that after the attack, she came back in time, but only to July 4, due to Eclipse being broken. She tells the group to use an underground passage to meet Jellal, who would be creating a strategy, apologizing for not having one. Arcadios recalls the princess telling him someone told her that Eclipse could be used against the Dragons in what would be known as Phase 2. As he wonders why she lied about not having a strategy, as well as the date she arrived, Natsu thanks her, promising to protect the future._

 _While going through the underground path, the rescue team is confronted by the army. Natsu readies to fight, but the group notices that Yukino and Arcadios have disappeared. Rather than fight, Mirajane leaves to find Yukino while the rest fight the army._ _As Natsu knocks down several of the knights, he is hit from behind by Magic. However, Natsu shrugs it off, saying that such Magic wouldn't hurt him. Natsu, Loke and Wendy continue to attack the guards. As Panther Lily moves in to attack, he is stopped by an acid attack from Neppa. The rest of the Garou Knights arrive as well, telling the Mages not to underestimate them. Kama arrives as well, stating he won't let them leave. The group are still combating the guards and the Garou Knights, but are on the verge of being overwhelmed. Suddenly, the shadows of the corridor attack the guards and the Garou Knights and sweep them into the darkness, much to the Rescue Team's confusion._

 _The rescue team hear someone coming toward them. Natsu calls out for the person to identify themselves and he does, revealing himself as Rogue Cheney, and claiming that he came from the future. They question as to why, if he truly is from the future, did he come back in time. "Future Rogue" explains that he came back in time to make sure they open the door, stating that Eclipse can be used to defeat the attacking Dragons. However, the Dragons are the rulers in his future and humanity is almost extinct because someone prevented Eclipse from being used, and he's therefore come back to kill that person. Believing that the door will be closed if the person lives, Future Rogue attacks Lucy, who he claims is the culprit. However, his attack is intercepted by Lucy's future counterpart, who takes the blow, much to everyone's surprise. Injured, she falls to the ground, claiming she'd have never done such a thing. As she dies, the future Lucy tells the others not to cry for her, but they say otherwise since she is still their Lucy. Saying she wished to travel with them, the Lucy of the future dies as her Fairy Tail comrades shed tears. However, still believing that Lucy will cause doom in the future, the Rogue of the future attacks again but before he can do so, he is sent flying by Natsu, who tells him he will protect the future._ _As Future Rogue reels from the strike, Lucy is advised to escape by Loke, with Wendy, Happy, Carla, and Panther Lily accompanying her. Future Rogue tries to go after Lucy once more but is knocked back by Natsu, who vows that they'll protect the future their own way. Seeing her future self die, and while being held in her hands no less, really shook Lucy, because there is nothing scarier than seeing yourself die while being held in your own hands._

* * *

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…..**_

* * *

 ** _Alright, my lovely little Fairy Freaks so I'm ending this here, despite the fact that this isn't the true end of the "Grand Magic Games" arc, because honestly, I felt that the whole Eclipse Gate/Dragon Siege could/should've been its own arc. I have tried my best to keep everything Lucy-centric, and even then it was still A LOT of stuff; so much that I cut as much as I could without compromising too much of the storyline established in the canon-verse. Anyways, I hope that you've enjoyed the story thus far, and keep an eye out for "Hollow: Lucy Part 3"._**


	10. Chapter 10: Hollow: Lucy Part 3

**Hello my lovely Fairy Freaks, and welcome to "Hollow: Lucy Part 3". I do hope that you all enjoyed "Hollow: Lucy Part 2", and that you will enjoy this as well. Now, as stated at the end of the last chapter, this picks up where that left off.**

 **WARNING: THIS CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVEN'T FINISHED READING THE MANGA YET.**

 **Disclaimer: I still don't own "Fairy Tail" or any of its characters.**

* * *

 **Hollow: Lucy Part 3**

 ** _Flashback_**

 _After seeing her future-self die, Lucy, along with Wendy and the Exceeds flee from where Future Rogue and Natsu are fighting as requested by Lucy's Celestial Zodiac spirit, Leo, aka: Loke, the Lion. Lucy and her group, once out of the castle, come across the princess, Princess Hisui E. Fiore, near the Eclipse Gate; the Princess is preparing to commence her "Eclipse 2" plan, and having the capital city evacuated. Lucy speaks with the princess about what she had been told by Future Rogue and states that she wouldn't close the gate, but wonders why the Eclipse Gate is being opened early to which the princess states "that the gate needs to charge, and they wish to be ready". As the gate opened Lucy was overcome with an ominous feeling of dread and approached it, rebutting her previous statement saying, much to Wendy's shock, that she must close the gate. But before she can get close enough to close the gate, Princess Hisui states that_ _that the Eclipse Gate is the only weapon the country has against the Dragons but Lucy states that there is no such thing as the "Eclipse Cannon," and that the entire device can only be a gate that accesses different points in time. As Lucy reveals that the Gate connects their spot in time to that of Fiore over 400 years ago, tremors are felt by everyone as a Dragon comes out of the Gate and roars, sending those nearby flying. The Dragon goes on to cause more destruction, causing those far away to wonder what is happening. As another Dragon comes out, Lucy asks how the Gate can be closed and is pointed to a pedestal near the Gate._ _As she tries to get to the lever, Lucy is pushed back by the exuding Dragons power. Just as another Dragon emerges, Lucy manages to grab the handle, stating that she can use her Celestial Spirit powers to close the door. Wendy asks Lucy how she knew all this, to which Lucy states she had Crux analyze the Gate and was told it combined Celestial Spirit Magic with writings from the 'Book of Zeref' to work. Lucy says that, due to the lunar eclipse, the Magic has been corrupted and resulted in its current state. While Lucy is unable to seal the Gate, Hisui begins crying over her mistake and the doom it will cause to the country. While Lucy continues trying, below the castle, Natsu pulls himself out of the shadows and both he and Lucy declare that they will protect the future._ _Despite her attempts, Lucy is unable to close the Eclipse Gate by herself. However, Yukino suddenly arrives alongside Mirajane and tells Lucy to take out her Golden Keys. As she does the same, Lucy follows suit and the two girls combine their magic power to summon all 12 zodiac spirits at once. Together, the spirits take flight and proceed to close the Eclipse Gate, despite more Dragons trying to get through. Working together, the 12 spirits successfully close the gate, much to everyone's relief. However, this relief is short-lived as Future Rogue arrives and proclaims that the number of Dragons present is enough for him, declaring to all that the era of Dragons is about to begin._ _Future Rogue orders the Dragons to eliminate all the Mages in Crocus, commanding them by means of his Dragon Supremacy Magic which force the Dragons to obey him, including Zirconis, the dragon whose soul Wendy had communicated with using_ _ **Milky Way**_ _._

 _In Crocus, the Fairy Tail Mages are attacked by Atlas Flame as the other guilds attempt to take down other Dragons by using their superior numbers. Despite their attempts, the Mages are able to inflict little damage, making them doubt their chances of victory. Flying above the city, the Future Rogue joyfully tells the Dragons to show their wrath just as he spots Natsu Dragneel as he arrives at the scene. As Natsu and Future Rogue fight, Future Rogue reveals that in the future, the ruling part didn't come from the gate; Acnologia alone rules the entire world with no opposition. Explaining that his Dragon Supremacy Magic didn't work on it and that only a Dragon could kill it, he reveals such is why he wanted the Eclipse Gate opened so he could overthrow Acnologia and become King of the Dragons. Natsu notes there to be seven Dragons in the vicinity and while Rogue claims them to be enough for him, Natsu attacks the one they're riding upon and shouts to all the Mages below. Stating that Dragon Slayer Magic can kill Dragons, Natsu exclaims that since they have seven Dragon Slayers to fight seven Dragons, they will be able to win. Future Rogue questions whether Natsu knows what he's talking about, as they only have 6 Dragon Slayers, though the Salamander claims he does._

 _On the ground, Doranbolt returns from afar, heavily exhausted after having brought Cobra from prison to assist in the battle after having been forced to ask for his assistance._ _Continuing their battle, Future Rogue states that the Mages' efforts are pointless, as humans are unable to defeat Dragons, but Natsu retorts that if he must stop being human to protect his comrades, then he will gladly do so. Future Rogue then calls for Motherglare to attack; it does so by producing eggs and sending them plummeting into the streets below. Upon hitting the ground, the eggs hatch into small Draconian entities. Upon seeing this, Laxus orders the Fairy Tail members to focus on the hatchlings while he and the Raijinshuu will deal with the fiery Dragon. Meanwhile, Sting tells Rogue to go help another Dragon Slayer-less guild while he and Sabertooth fight the Dragon in front of them, citing that Natsu's words gave him the courage to protect his friends. Rogue then hurries off, stating that Sabertooth's era of dispassion has ended._ _Atop Motherglare, Natsu states that there is nothing they can't accomplish if they work together, but Future Rogue remains confident in his victory._ _Back near the Gate, Zirconis taunts those in front of him, causing Wendy to ask him if he remembers her. Subsequently, Carla reminds her that they spoke with Zirconis' soul, and that this is the real Zirconis: the one from four hundred years ago. Carla then states that because of her Sky Dragon Slayer Magic, Wendy is the only one who can defeat the Jade Dragon, just as Zirconis releases a large breath attack. However, rather than killing the soldiers caught in the blast, the attack simply strips the soldiers of their clothes, much to the embarrassment of everyone affected. Seeing the confused looks of those present, Zirconis explains that although he likes the taste of people, he detests the taste of their clothing, hence the need to remove them. However, Zirconis decides that even with clothes removed, he doesn't like the taste of men, and prefers women. As such, the Jade Dragon aims a small blast of his magic at Lucy, which strips her of her clothes as well. Wendy, angered and offended, states that she will be the one to defeat Zirconis._ _At that statement, Zirconis then challenges the Dragon Slayer if she can do so before he eats Lucy. Wendy then casts Arms and Vernier on Mirajane, before declaring that she will. Roaring at the girls confidence (which knocks everyone within range back), he then takes to the sky and taunts them. Just as he's about to eat Lucy, Mirajane transforms into her Satan Soul: Sitri, and charges into his jaw as a distraction, while Wendy attacks from above with her Sky Dragon's Roar. Enraged, the Dragon tosses Lucy aside as he prepares to confront his two opponents. Happy goes flying after Lucy in order to save her, but the naked girl ends up knocking Natsu off the Dragon he was fighting Rogue on, in the middle of their battle._

 _Somehow falling into a bell, the duo end up rolling downhill, before stopping at a river bank. Natsu is quite shocked by Lucy's situation, and after Lucy whacks Natsu for groping her, they are joined by Happy. As the Exceed inquiries about his battle, Natsu reluctantly admits that Future Rogue is much stronger than him. Lucy complains about the Dragons, mentioning Atlas Flame, Zirconis and the rock Dragon, which seems to give Natsu an epiphany in order to defeat them._ _Natsu and Happy fly off to put his plan in motion, leaving Lucy behind who spent too long changing into the new clothes that Virgo brought her. Pouting for being left behind, and at Natsu's 'ridiculous' plan, she then smiles at the Salamander's optimism. After being teased by Virgo, she then notices her future self's journal which has been tossed into the garbage. Meanwhile, Laxus and the Raijinshuu keep up their attempts to defeat Atlas Flame, however, their attacks have no effect due to Atlas Flame's "flames from hell". When they exclaim that this Dragon is a bad match-up for Laxus, Natsu suddenly appears, being thrown down at Atlas Flame by Happy. After introducing himself, Natsu states that he will eat the Dragon, much to the surprise of Laxus and his bodyguards. They are then told to go to the castle and help Wendy and despite Laxus' initial doubts, they head out, leaving Atlas Flame in Natsu's hands. Annoyed, Atlas Flame attempts to make Natsu let him go, however, Natsu just keeps eating his flames. Suddenly, Atlas Flame is reminded of Igneel and asks Natsu about his relation to his dear friend, the Fire Dragon King. With a smile on his face, Natsu replies that Igneel is his dad._

 _As the battles rage across Crocus, things seem to be going badly for the Mages, with not only Gray being killed, but Bacchus and Droy receiving fatal wounds, and Macao being pinned down by Motherglare's hatchlings. Elsewhere amongst the rubble, Ultear grieves over her sins, and is ashamed of herself despite Gray granting her a second chance in life. She then recalls when she was learning her Magic, the Arc of Time, and how she came upon a spell that reverses time, known as Last Ages. Back then, Hades advised her to never use the spell, since the cost of reversing the time of everyone in the world would be her life. In the present, in order to make up for all the evil she had committed in the past, she chooses to use the forbidden spell, hoping to at least reverse time to before the Eclipse Gate was opened._ _Ultear casts the spell, causing her entire body to get horribly burnt in the process. After the spell's completion, with the last of her strength, she turns to look at a clock to find that she had only turned back time by one minute. As she falls, she wonders if that is really all her life is worth and laments at how she was unable to save a single life. In the new 'present', back at the ruins of Bar Sun, just as Gray saved Juvia from an attack from a hatchling, they, plus Meredy and Lyon, view a glimpse of the future in which Gray dies. At first confused, they are surprised as the events they just saw occur again right in front of them, though they managed to counter the attack this time. As people all over the world saw a minute into the future and puzzled over what happened before going on with their daily lives, the Mages in the life and death battles in Crocus were able to use that knowledge for a counterattack. Some, like Jet, Droy, Macao, Wakaba and Romeo, moved from their current location in order to avoid casualties, while others, like Bacchus and all the Dragon Slayers, used that knowledge to fight back. As the battle continues, everyone questions the premonition they received, with Lily even questioning Carla if she was behind it, to which she denies. Arcadios and Yukino try to make Hisui leave, but the princess stubbornly refuses, stating that it was her responsibility to see through this mess to its end._

 _Just then, Lucy comes running in with a possible solution. According to her future self's notebook, theoretically, if they were to destroy the gates, then future Rogue will be unable to travel to the past and effect the present, thus both he and the Dragons will be forced to return to their proper times. Despite this plan being their best chance of resolving this fiasco, Arcadios states that it is easier said than done. Regardless, the two Celestial Spirit Mages choose to attack it with everything they have. When their efforts don't even leave a scratch on the Gate, Arcadios goes on to explain that it is made of an extremely strong, Magic-resistant alloy known as_ ** _Maginium_** _, and will thus be extremely difficult to destroy._ _Meanwhile in the skies above them, the battle of Natsu and Atlas Flame against future Rogue and Motherglare continues to rage. Natsu demands future Rogue to go back to his time, and when he is refused, Salamander asks what is to become of the present Rogue. The future version states that in time, the present version will become one with himself, infuriating Natsu who claims that the future Rogue is planning on stealing the present one's future. The White Shadow Dragon Slayer states that as long as Acnologia exists, there is no future, before hitting Natsu with a painful blow that almost knocks him off of Motherglare. As future Rogue chuckles above him, Natsu mentions Frosch (the Exceed companion to Rogue), to which the Shadow Dragon Slayer claims the cat will die around a year from the present. Natsu and future Rogue continue to argue about hope and possible choices for the future as they battle, until the Fire Dragon Slayer ends the battle with a push from Atlas Flame. This last powerful attack sends both future Rogue and Motherglare colliding into the Eclipse Gate, which was still undamaged despite the best efforts of the Mages assaulting it, destroying it and knocking them out. With the Gate finally broken, those present witness the Dragons and future Rogue's bodies glow, as they start to return to their own time. Atlas Flame seems to accept this, but Zirconis becomes enraged at the thought of having lost to the humans. Heedless of the warnings, Hisui approaches the angry Dragon, apologizing and taking responsibility for his predicament. After learning her name, which means jade, and the comparison of the color with his own scales, Zirconis ponders of how the title "Jade Dragon" has a nice ring to it. Noticing he has become transparent, Zirconis then curses, realizing he had been tricked before disappearing altogether. Everyone watches as the Dragons disappear, including the hatchlings. As Atlas Flame does so, he promises to never forget Natsu, while the Dragon Slayer in question thanks the Dragon out loud for all his help, before Atlas vanishes. As the threats disappears, almost all of the Mages rejoice, having won the battle. The exception being Mavis and the Dragon Slayers, having realized that none of them actually managed to beat their Dragon opponent. The Twin Dragons lament about this, knowing that none of the Dragons were close to Acnologia in strength, they choose to celebrate instead, having successfully protected their comrades. Back at the palace as future Rogue disappears, Natsu states that the present version will not end up like the future version. However, as future Rogue vanishes, he states that the 'shadows' will consume him, and that the day Frosch died, he became one with the 'shadows'. Despite Natsu's optimistic claim that the Exceed in question will not die, future Rogue gives a final ominous warning for his past self: protect Frosch one year from now, or Frosch will be killed. Elsewhere, future Lucy's body disappears, and as she awakens, she finds herself in a vast plain. She is then called from behind, and as she turns, Lucy sees all of her friends from Fairy Tail. Natsu then grabs her arm, telling her that they're going to continue their adventure, with future Lucy tearfully and happily complying. In the present, as future Lucy's notebook disappears, current Lucy begins to weep as well, and impulsively embraces Natsu from behind while thanking him when he questions if something is wrong. Natsu, though normally dense when it comes to anything that isn't food, fighting, and sleeping, understands and accepts Lucy's embrace._

* * *

 _Several days later, the Mages who assisted in the battle against the Dragons are invited to a celebration in the Royal Palace. Lucy, Mirajane, Lisanna and Yukino arrive and are greeted by their friends and notice that all the Mages from other guilds who entered the Grand Magic Games are present as well. During the festivities, Hisui recognizes Lucy as the daughter of her friend Jude Heartfilia's daughter and apologizes for the way she treated her, for which Lucy forgives her while. Looking around, Hisui notices Natsu is missing. Elsewhere, Chelia and Wendy are seen by Mavis while eating. While numerous women hang off Laxus, he and the Raijinshuu also notice Natsu's absence. On the floor, Erza approaches Kagura and asks if they could be friends but Kagura states Erza is more of an elder sister to her and is pulled in for a hug. Seeing Millianna's depressed face, Erza gives her Happy, whom she pulled out of her bust, and subsequently Carla and Panther Lily when Happy alone is not enough._ _Meanwhile, Sting and Lector greet Gajeel and ask for Natsu, to which Gajeel replies that Natsu isn't here. Gajeel asks Rogue about his future counterpart, to which Rogue replies that he won't become him. As Sting's attitude angers Gajeel, other Sabertooth members note that Sting has lightened up as of late. As they drink, Sting notices Yukino and is surprised to see her. Sting tells her that he plans on rebuilding Sabertooth as a guild that values their comrades and asks Yukino to rejoin Sabertooth. However, a drunk Kagura tells him Yukino will be joining Mermaid Heel, starting a fight between the two. Before long, Fairy Tail and the other guilds present declare their interest in Yukino and demand that she join their guild, inciting an inter-guild brawl which overjoys Yukino to tears. The quarrel is then put to a halt once Arcadios tells the Mages that the King is coming to greet them. Hearing this, everyone keeps silent but is shocked as the one to greet them is not the king, but Natsu, having stolen the King's crown, who declares that he is the new King. As everyone is surprised by this turn, Natsu's friends simply look on in amusement._

 _After the celebration at the palace the mages of Fairy Tail return home to Magnolia. Upon their return to Magnolia Town, the Fairy Tail Guild Mages are greeted by the citizens, who gather in the streets for a celebration of their victory. The Mages are astounded to see this, surprised that everyone was there. Juvia notices Gray's sad face and asks what is wrong, though he brushes off the issue. As they shout out to her, Lucy notices her landlady and the boat driver, the latter of whom tells her she needs to pay rent; which causes Lucy to sweat drop. Erza is fawned over by many admirers of her feats, who argue over what her best performance was. Meanwhile, Natsu opens his bag to show everyone the victory trophy Fairy Tail won. Suddenly, the mayor of the town calls the mages over to his location. The mages are shocked as they are presented with their guild building completely restored. When told that the entire town pitched in to help, a joyful Makarov professes his love for the town._

* * *

 _A few weeks after the "_ _ **Grand Magic Games**_ _", and the events that followed, Lucy and Yukino Agria arrive at the Hill of the Stars alongside Natsu Dragneel and Happy to thank and reward their Celestial Spirits for their help in closing the_ _ **Eclipse Gat**_ _e during the_ _ **Grand Magic Games**_ _and the subsequent_ _ **Dragon invasion**_ _. The two Celestial Spirit Mages decide to grant a wish to each of their Zodiac Spirits one by one. Each Spirit has his or her wish granted in some way or another, Virgo's receiving a flick to the forehead much to the spirits delight, until only Aquarius is left at last. Being in a foul mood, she requests Lucy to make her laugh, which she fails at initially. After being sent off a cliff and hanging by a branch, Aquarius laughs and helps bring her to safety, remembering their times together as Lucy was growing up and they then sit together under the stars._ _The next day, Natsu, Lucy and Happy arrive to the guild hall just to find it completely empty. Mirajane explains that everyone is out on jobs, dealing with the recent natural disasters and then gives Lucy a job she had saved for the Celestial Spirit Mage. After arriving to the requested location, however, Lucy's group gets attacked by a sea slug. Natsu eventually defeats it, but during the battle, Lucy finds out that her golden keys are not working as the Spirits would not respond to her summons. While Yukino arrives to the Fairy Tail guild with a similar problem, Lucy successfully summons Crux just to find out that something terrible is happening in the Celestial Spirit World. That is when Virgo, and eventually, the rest of Lucy's Spirits appear, attacking Lucy and others. Natsu attempts to fight them, but in the end, Happy carries both him and Lucy away, wondering what caused all of this. Meanwhile, the rebelling Spirits return to the Celestial Spirit World, with Leo stating that to achieve a complete freedom, there is still something to be done._ _Lucy, Natsu and Happy return to Fairy Tail where they tell the others of what happened. Lucy once more summons Crux, who this time is aided by Horologium to cross the dimensions without harm. Crux explains that the Spirit King has suddenly gone missing and the Gold Key Spirits have trashed the Celestial World during his absence. He's not sure what caused their change, but mentions something called the Liberum. Yukino produces a tome which Levy deciphers that Liberum is a ritual needed to achieve their "perfect freedom" but they need a mystical globe to do it. Reasoning that the weather anomalies are linked to the Celestial World, Fairy Tail split into teams to go gather more information. Natsu, Happy, Lucy, Levy and Yukino are sent to the Magic Library but before the group can head out, Natsu suddenly goes missing, having hitched a ride with Horologium to the Celestial Spirit world in the hopes of fighting Leo and beating him to his senses._

 _While Natsu is in the Celestial Spirit world, his assigned team go to the Magic Library to investigate only to be attacked by Virgo. Lucy, Happy and Yukino try to hold her off to allow Levy to continue searching. She manages to find a donation list which leads her to the mystical globe. But Virgo steals it away from her and escapes just as Natsu falls into the building from the Celestial World. Despite this, Levy reveals a critical warning packaged with the globe. If the Gold Spirits do indeed complete the ritual, they'll only live for twelve days. The price for their "perfect freedom"._ _Not long after learning this, Natsu's group head for southern Magnolia to find the location of the Astral Spirytus, an area needed for the ritual. Along the way they run into Princess Hisui and Arcadios who were on their way to Fairy Tail to inform them about the spirits with Hisui even mentioning that it was because of using the Eclipse Door that caused the Gold Spirits change, though the group state they don't blame her. Hisui then presents the group with a batch of new celestial keys she made which she states will be able to close the spirits' gates. However the group is suddenly attacked by the Eclipse forms of Pisces who now resemble a humanoid fishman (the son) and a shark (the mother). The duo steal the keys from them prompting Natsu to attack. He takes on the son while the others deal with the mother. However the duo display new powers such as the resistance to water when they were originally weak to it, the son being able to cancel out Natsu's fire power and the mother having the abilities to eat most attacks thrown her way, swim through the air and surfaces, making her own water, harden her skin and change her size. After some fighting, Pisces ultimately end up getting away with the case. However Arcadios had foreseen this and switched it with a fake, meaning the group still have the keys. What's more Hisui reveals she knows the location of the Astral Spiriytus. With this, the group head out in hopes of stopping the ritual._

 _At the Astral Spirytus, the 12 Zodiacs begin the ritual just as Natsu's group close in on their location. Using the new keys, the group manage to find the ritual ground and Natsu interrupts the ceremony. Lucy tries to warn the spirits what they're getting into but Leo reveals they already know but don't care. When the keys that Pisces stole are revealed to be a fake, the spirits start to attack the group as they largely outnumber then. That is until the rest of the Fairy Tail teams arrive, revealing that Warren used his telepathy to guide them there. At a disadvantage now, the spirits run to their gates challenging Fairy Tail to come fight them. The teams are all given a closing gate key before splitting up and following after them, each finding themselves in a different dimension. They eventually defeat the rebelling Zodiac Spirits and put a stop to "Liberum" restoring order to the Celestial Spirit world. The Celestial Spirit King thanks them for all that they did to save his world, and the Zodiac Spirits give Lucy and Yukino new keys and restore their previous contracts. Lucy had been devastated when she couldn't call upon her Zodiac spirits to aid her, but after everything was sorted with new keys given, and contracts remade, Lucy felt a lot better knowing that she had her "family" back._

* * *

 _After restoring order to the Celestial Spirit world, Lucy and the others return to the guild, where_ _the Fairy Tail girls happily take to the newly built-in bathhouse, with Cana even claiming that having such a bathhouse will keep her from working. The girls make note of their recent bombardment of Job requests since the Grand Magic Games and comment on the matter, while also playfully teasing each other about their relationships with their guild mates, especially Lucy. As they continue their conversations, they discover that one of the girls bathing with them is actually Flare Corona of Raven Tail; her appearance startles the Fairy Tail girls, though Lucy stops her guild mates from attacking her. Flare reveals that she has nowhere to go with Raven Tail's disbandment but still has no intention of joining Fairy Tail, confusing them._

 _Later, Lucy walks home to find Erza, Wendy, and Carla inside with candy to offer from their mission. They contemplate Natsu and Gray's location and eventually head to the site of their mission, finding the boys arguing with Happy watching them helplessly. Erza attempts to stop their fight but is unrecognized and receives a punch to her face from both of them; angered, she punishes them and brings them back to the guild with rest of the team. At the guild, Makarov is handed a new mission from Mirajane for Natsu and Gray; reading through it, he becomes increasingly frantic and tells the two mages to not fail, as it is a personal request from the fourth-rank Wizard Saint, Warrod Sequen._ _Accompanied by their teammates, Natsu and Gray promptly head out to discuss their mission with their client. They encounter Warrod Sequen in a rusty-looking house where he elaborates on the details of his Job request. Warrod explains that while on a mission to afforest the deserts on the continent, he stumbles upon the Sun Village, only to find the village and its inhabitants frozen alive in a mysterious ice; because he cannot save them himself, he wants Natsu and Gray to accomplish the task for him. The Fairy Tail mages accept his request and are escorted to the village itself through the use of Warrod's magic._

 _Upon arriving at the village, Natsu and the others notice that the village is truly encased in ice, including the weapon-wielding giants within the premises; upon seeing them, Gray is reminded of his past, causing him to feel uncomfortable; when inquired by Lucy he explains that the situation reminds him of the Galuna Island incident years ago. Suddenly, a trio of men appear from a cliff and identify themselves as treasure hunters of Sylph Labyrinth and that they are searching for the village's eternal flame. They provoke the Fairy Tail Mages' interests with a bottle of "_ _ **Moon Drip**_ _" before running off. Erza promptly sends everyone to chase after the men while she investigates the village further, where she encounters Minerva who is now a member of the dark guild, Succubus Eye. Lucy and the others eventually stop the treasure hunters with the help of Flare Corona, who grew up in the village and returned after Raven Tail's disbandment, and Gray, who was able to unfreeze the eternal flame._ _Gray approaches the Flame and decides to try manipulating the ice around the flame; his method succeeds and the ice starts to disappear, although it ultimately causes the Flame to disappear. Wendy confirms that Flame is still present albeit weakly. Natsu uses his Magic on the Flame, causing it to glow brightly. From the fire emerges the Dragon Atlas Flame who greets Natsu as the son of Igneel._ _It is soon revealed that the Dragon's presence is due to Wendy's use of_ _ **Milky Way**_ _, therefore it being a temporary resurrection. Atlas uses the short time that he has to explain the circumstances to the Mages. The Dragon reveals that an_ _ **Ice Devil Slayer**_ _is the one responsible for freezing him and the village, mistaking Atlas himself to be a Demon, when instead Atlas is truly the guardian of the Sun Village and its Eternal Flame; additionally, it also warns Natsu that Igneel had previously failed to defeat the most evil Magic from the Books of Zeref, E.N.D.. With his final message to Natsu, Atlas disappears and the rest of the Sun Village thaws out. The thawing of the village allows Erza and Minerva to conclude their fight and for Natsu to ponder the Dragon's final words._

 _With the village saved, the Fairy Tail Mages discuss the situation of Sun Village's freezing with the giants, afterwards contemplating the reasons behind it. During their discussion, Lucy notices that Flare has disappeared; she finds the young woman in hiding and attempts to bring her to the giants, though Flare is sullen about having abandoned the village before. The giants find her and comfort Flare, telling her that she will always be welcome with them. Flare is touched by their words and cries happily about being home, and the others in the village proceed to celebrate about being rid of their troubles._ _The Fairy Tail Mages eventually leave the village and report back to Warrod Sequen on the completion of their mission. As a reward, the group is given the location of a secret hot spring which they take a trip to, enjoying the luxurious atmosphere altogether with Warrod later joining them. Warrod expresses happily on their friendship and reveals that he is one of the founders of Fairy Tail, confirming his former affiliation by singing the "_ ** _Song of the Fairies_** _" originally made by Mavis Vermilion. Hearing the song, the group thinks about the joys of their guild and friends._ _Once the song is over, Natsu recalls Warrod's age asks for any knowledge of E.N.D. or the devils, explaining further with the information that he learned earlier from Atlas Flame. Warrod states that he knows little of the subject. However, at the mention of Tartaros, he reveals that the only information known about them is that they are a Dark Guild seemingly made up of devil worshipers; Warrod also adds that the Dark Guild potentially has the '_ ** _Books of Zeref_** _' in their possession as well. Hearing this, Natsu flies into a fit of rage and proclaims that he will defeat them himself._

* * *

 _After returning to the guild from their mission to Sun Village, Lucy and the others research E.N.D while Erza informs the Master about Minerva having joined a dark guild and suggests informing the Magic Council. Lucy and the others, with the help of Levy, learn that E.N.D. is Zeref's most powerful demon, as Panther Lily wonders what Zeref's Demons are, Carla explains that they are his creations and can be summoned via his books. Natsu, knowing Tartaros likely has the book with E.N.D. in it, suggests attacking them, something Gajeel agrees with. Though Lucy berates the idea, Natsu claims that since Igneel attempted to destroy E.N.D., he might find a clue, with Wendy and Gajeel suggesting connections with their own Dragons. Suddenly, Jet and Droy return to the guild in a panic, announcing that something terrible has happened. He informs everyone that the Magic Council has been attacked, and completely destroyed with not a single member of the Council surviving._

 _Meanwhile at the 8-Island Restaurant, Freed, Bickslow and Yajima read the newspaper and learn about the attack on the Magic Council and the arising death toll. As the Fairy Tail mages work alongside Evergreen, they wonder where Laxus is, having gone out on an errand. Suddenly, a hooded figure appears in the door and, in an instant, destroys the establishment. Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen are all easily knocked aside by the intruder and he attempts to kill Yajima, however Laxus intervenes and takes over the fight._ _Shedding his disguise, the man reveals himself as Tempester, one of the_ _ **Nine Demon Gates**_ _. However, despite his attempts, Laxus is ultimately able to overpower and defeat him. Forced into a corner, Tempester sacrifices one of his lives and unleashes_ _ **Magical Barrier Particles**_ _, particles which create_ _ **Magic Deficiency Illness**_ _and can spread quickly. As Yajima, Evergreen and Bickslow collapse from this powerful poison, Laxus begins inhaling the particles, able to do so due to his_ _ **Dragon Slayer lungs**_ _. Though Freed tells him to stop, Laxus is determined not to let anyone die as he tells Freed to get everyone home. In the guild, the affected Mages are treated by Porlyusica, who reiterates their highly serious condition. Freed tells Makarov that Laxus is responsible for saving the town, but Makarov recalls that the particles still spread and resulted in both a quarantine and over one hundred deaths. Not knowing this, Freed asks if the town is alright, to which Makarov answers in the affirmative, relieving him. As the other mages in the guild are saddened by these recent events, Natsu is furious and angrily declares that now is the time to go to war._

 _Natsu throws a violent tantrum, wishing to wage war against the Dark Guild, but without any clear direction of where to start. Both Makarov and Erza concur, with them realizing that they don't have enough information to take the war to the Dark Guild. The guild members conclude that their only course of action is that they need to stake out the hidden former Magic Council members who are currently being targeted; Loke appears and reveals he knows where some of the retired Council members are currently staying by means of seduction. With the location of four ex-Council members, Fairy Tail starts splitting into groups and heading to their locations in order to protect them, as well as find out more information on both Tartaros and the other retired members. After Porlyusica requests that, if possible, they get a sample of Tempester's blood, and Elfman and Mirajane Strauss say goodbye to Evergreen and Laxus respectively; Makarov gives a rousing speech before the teams split up to guard the ex-Council members._

 _Natsu, Lucy, Wendy Happy and Carla are sent to guard Michello, who is less than enthusiastic about having the Fairy Tail members guard him, regardless of the situation. His granddaughter, Michelia talks him into calming down and he ponders reasons as to why Tartaros would be targeting them, however just as he thinks of a possible reason, Natsu smells something and pushes everyone down, just before an explosion destroys Michello's home. Fortunately, Natsu's manages to consume most of the explosion before it could cause any casualties. Just then, Jackal appears above them, curious as to why no one is dead. In light of the irksome wreckage to his house, Michello is advised to run from the Tartaros member by Lucy, from whom he is protected by the woman and Wendy. Before Natsu can take Jackal, the Demon creates a town-wide explosion that causes the populace to panic; the two now do battle, but Jackal finds that his heat-based attacks do nothing against the Fire Dragon Slayer, who eats each explosion, prompting Jackal to attempt to tell Natsu something, however he is interrupted. Meanwhile, Michello realizes that Tartaros may be after "_ _ **Face**_ _" and attempts to flee so as to learn the locations of the other councilors, however Natsu stops the man and asks him to reveal everything he knows about what Tartaros may be after, which he refuses to do. Jackal then returns and reveals to Natsu that he has a "_ _ **curse**_ _": whatever touches his body is doomed to explode; as marking appear on Natsu's body and detonate, putting him out of commission, Jackal threatens the safety of Michelia so as to force Michello to reveal all his secrets._ _As Michello attempts to escape, Wendy and Lucy attempt to stop the pursuing Jackal but find their attempts futile as the Demon reveals that he and the members of Tartaros do not use Magic, but rather Curses, which stand above Magic. Defeating the two of them swiftly, Jackal leaves to chase Michello while Wendy and Lucy recover soon after, with the latter going after him as the former stays to take care of Natsu. Michello attempts to get someone to hide him but fails as nobody does so, just as Jackal appears. A pursuing Lucy is caught in Jackal's Landmine_ _ **Curse**_ _, one which will explode should she move. Noticing the crowd, Jackal takes this to his advantage as he encases Michello and a woman in two bomb orbs which are set to explode and asks Lucy which one should survive. Michello argues adamantly for her to save him while the lady claims to be pregnant, making the choice hard for Lucy. However, before having to choose, Lucy is freed from the obligation as Natsu arrives and elbows Jackal, freeing the captives. Knocking out Michello, Natsu eats the_ _ **Curse**_ _laid upon his body prior to it exploding, shocking Jackal. Natsu quickly delivers a beat down upon Jackal and though this brings the touch curse upon him, Natsu is able to eat it, preventing it from knocking him out. Jackal sees this and begins to feel fear and enters a more powerful form. As he states that humans cannot compare to Demons and should die, Natsu replies that they are humans who fight for their friends and will fight anyone for their sake. Activating his_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon Mode**_ _, Natsu attacks Jackal with his_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon's Firing Hammer**_ _, knocking Jackal away and causing him to revert to normal before collapsing himself. Before they can weasel information from Jackal, the Demon turns his body into a bomb and attempts to blow up the town, apologizing to Kyôka before he can do so. However, Happy takes Jackal's body and carries him into the sky before he can detonate to save everyone; Jackal's body creates an enormous, town-sized explosion that engulfs Happy. Everyone looks on in anticipation until the smoke clears and Happy is revealed to be relatively unharmed, relieving everyone._

 _Back at the Fairy Tail Guild, Makarov starts receives various pieces of news regarding the fates of the councilors that he sent his Mages to protect, all of which reveal a negative prognosis. Meanwhile at the house of ex-Council member Yuri, Elfman and Lisanna find the occupant already unmarked and deceased. Before they can report back to the guild, Yuri opens his eyes and destroys the Lacrima before collapsing once more. The perpetrator then reveals herself: it is Seilah, one of the Nine Demon Gates. She then uses her_ _ **Curse: Macro,**_ _on Elfman, which forces him to choke Lisanna, much to his dismay. Concurrently, Lucy manages to establish communication with the guild and informs Makarov that Michello is shaken but unharmed. Michello, at Makarov's behest, begins to explain exactly what Tartaros is after:_ _ **Face**_ _; a weapon that nullifies Magic across the entire continent. Realizing that Tartaros will be unaffected because they use_ _ **Curses**_ _, not Magic, Natsu demands the location of the weapon so that they can destroy it, however Michello reveals that three Councilors are the_ _ **Organic Link Key**_ _and the only one who knows their locations is the former chairman. Now understanding that Tartaros is assassinating ex-councilors to unseal_ _ **Face**_ _, Laki reveals that they've found the chairman's hidden address and have sent Erza and Mirajane to protect him. Natsu suddenly has a revelation and flies away from his group with Happy, determined to find the ex-chairman under the pretense of suspicion regarding him leaking information about the Council to Tartaros. Theorizing that Erza and Mirajane are in trouble due to who they were sent to meet, Natsu pushes Happy to rush._

 _Lucy, Wendy and Carla apologize for Natsu running away before Happy wanders in and tells everyone of Mirajane, Erza and Natsu's capture, as well as of Crawford's traitorous nature. As he reveals that Tartaros' headquarters is a floating island and Levy begins pinpointing its trajectory, a Macro-possessed Elfman stumbles into the guild, preparing to execute Seilah's plan._ _Elfman tells everyone that Lisanna has been captured and that Yuri is dead; the former statement earns him a reprimanding at the hands of Cana, due to him just leaving his sister, though Gray jumps to his defense. Walking down to the basement, Elfman recalls the mission given to him by Seilah and her_ _ **Macro**_ _: destroy Fairy Tail and he shall be given Lisanna. With the explosive Lacrima gifted unto him in hand, Elfman states that for his sister's return, he will obliterate Fairy Tail. As the Lacrima in Elfman's possession prepares for detonation as the man cries, stating that he loves Lisanna, Tartaros has successfully unsealed_ _ **Face**_ _._ _Cana stumbles upon Elfman and the Lacrima, causing the man to pounce on her and tells her and Fairy Tail to perish; Cana realizes that he's being controlled. As everyone upstairs prepares to attack Tartaros, as Levy has found out that they're directly above them, the Lacrima goes off, completely eradicating the guild building, leaving Seilah in a state of triumph._

 _With the explosion shaking the citizens of Magnolia, Kyôka congratulates Seilah on her act and remarks that their need to bring Cube to Magnolia was pointless. Before they can activate_ _ **Face**_ _, Franmalth detects a large number of magical entities approaching Cube, warranting Kyôka's attention. A soldier then comes in and tells the three Demon Gates that three shadows are coming towards them, but Franmalth says that he detects many more. To end their confusion, Seilah displays Undercube and sees Fairy Tail's Exceed flying right towards them carrying cards; Cana had saved the entire guild from the explosion at the last second by trapping them in her_ _ **Magic Cards**_ _and had them flown to Cube by the Exceeds._ _With the Demon Gates now in a panic, a gravitational field is activated and the Exceeds are sucked into Undercube as the recently deployed enemy approaches them; Cana releases everyone from her cards and they begin their counterattack. At the same time, she tells, a now free, Elfman that he needs to stand up and help them so they can get Mirajane and Lisanna back._ _The healthy members of Fairy Tail struggle against the Tartaros minions as they need to protect their wounded; their progress is hindered by the overwhelming numbers of their enemy. As they try to figure out how to get to the castle, Erza pierces through Undercube, having driven Kyôka straight through the floating island. This provides Fairy Tail the breach they needed to get inside the Dark Guild's fortress._ _Led by Elfman, enters that breach and begins their attack on Tartaros while Kyôka insists on continuing her fight with Erza, though not before the latter tells Lucy that_ _ **Face**_ _has been unsealed and that she needs to deactivate it._

 _Wendy, Lucy, Happy and Carla enter the control room, as Franmalth goes over the large error in their calculations but hides when he sees them come in. They soon discover that_ _ **Face**_ _has been activated manually, courtesy of Ezel, and has forty-one minutes until detonation; panic then continues to ensue when Keyes enters the room._ _Now faced with Keyes, Lucy spots the timer and notices that one minute has already passed, concluding that they need to distract him and just move on. As the Exceeds note the possible danger of the situation, Franmalth comes out of hiding and tells them that it's already dangerous, which prompts Lucy to summon Taurus and Aries, who both proceed to attack the two Nine Demon Gates, which allows Lucy, Wendy and the Exceeds to get away. Their triumph, however, is short-lived as Keyes quickly materializes in front of them; Gray appears and punches Keyes, which turns his body into numerous particles, and allows Lucy and Wendy to fly past. As he reforms, Keyes makes note that Gray is something of Silver's. As she continues down the corridor, Lucy spots a window but is blocked by the appearance of Aries' wool, which confuses her. As she and Happy are revealed to have been captured by Franmalth, Lucy tells Wendy to continue on to_ _ **Face**_ _without her; Franmalth makes a grab for Wendy, but he is stopped by the appearance of Natsu. As he wonders where Wendy is going, Lucy tells him that_ _ **Face**_ _has been activated and that she's going to deactivate it manually, however Franmalth regains their attention by performing_ _ **Revolution**_ _, taking on the appearance of Taurus, whose soul he absorbed alongside Aries' own. After a brief bickering session with Natsu, Franmalth refuses to return Taurus and Aries as they are valuable parts of his collection; Natsu goes to attack Franmalth, but he adopts the faces of Aries and Taurus, the latter of who's face Natsu hits anyway. Now fed up with Natsu and his antics, Franmalth performs_ _ **Revolution**_ _once more and draws out the power of his strongest soul, whose appearance shocks Natsu, Lucy and Happy; meanwhile, only thirty-four minutes remain until_ _ **Face**_ _activates._

 _As Wendy and Carla rush towards_ _ **Face**_ _, Franmalth reveals his strongest soul to be Hades, which he explains he obtained by following Zeref seven years ago and happening across his body. However, Natsu tells Franmalth that he defeated Hades and punches the Demon Gate away; Franmalth asks if Natsu did it by himself and retaliates, telling him that aside from the appearance, the magic power of the one who gazed into the abyss is real. Pressuring Natsu, Franmalth eventually grabs hold of the Dragon Slayer and tries to absorb his soul, however before he can, Natsu kicks his arm away and enters_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon Mode**_ _. Attacking Franmalth with his_ _ **Lightning Fire Dragon's Roar**_ _, Franmalth revels in the power of the magic he's looking at and absorbs the soul of the spell, thereby giving him access to Natsu's_ _ **Dragon Mode**_ _. Franmalth then recognizes Natsu as the one who defeated Jackal, but tells him not to take the Nine Demon Gates lightly, as one of them alone is enough to topple a country._ _Franmalth tells Natsu that he doesn't believe that magic can defeat their curses as well as that_ _ **Face**_ _will activate in ten minutes, meaning that the era of Mages will end. Realizing that losing their magic in the middle of their crucial battles would be horrendous, Lucy prays that Wendy stops_ _ **Face**_ _._

 _Natsu and the others fighting Franmalth soon feel_ _ **Face**_ _'s activation tremors, and Kyôka takes note of_ _ **Face**_ _'s impending activation._ _Franmalth begins expressing mass amounts of joy at_ _ **Face**_ _'s "activation", however Natsu notes that his magic hasn't disappeared, which causes Franmalth to realize that their plan failed. Descending into a panic, Franmalth quickly enters a blind rage and attacks Natsu, screeching for him to hand over his soul countless times before attacking them with Hades' magic, creating a large explosion. Franmalth latches onto the bodies of the three extremely injured Fairy Tail mages and begins to absorb their souls; Natsu, Lucy and Happy struggle against Franmalth's absorption and Lucy calls for Taurus and Aries to close their gates, which prompts Franmalth to eject them out of fear. She then tricks him by calling out the same for Natsu, which allows Natsu to break free and defeat Franmalth with a boulder. Franmalth's absorbed souls then float free; the soul of Hades materializes itself and tells them that Tartaros isn't after just_ _ **Face**_ _and passes along a message for them to deliver to Makarov: release the light._ _After Hades disappears, the group wonders what the deceased Guild Master was referring to before Happy flies off to find Makarov. As the other two leave to find Mirajane, Franmalth gleefully states how Demons are virtually immortal as long as their lab is intact, which allows them to be endlessly reborn, before he too disappears._

 _Lucy and Natsu are searching for their allies, they are contacted by Warren, who states that Mirajane is safe and sound with them. Lucy and Happy reveal via the communication that Wendy destroyed Face and that Hades wants Makarov to "release the light", which makes him think of Lumen Histoire. Suddenly, Warren screams as his telepathic communications are hijacked by Mard Geer, who both introduces himself to everyone and degrades them before casting_ _ **Alegria**_ _, which shifts Cube into a monster called Plutogrim and releases a mysterious fluid that traps and freezes all of Fairy Tail and much of Tartaros' own. Calling humanity foolish, Mard pauses in shock as he realizes that there is but one human survivor and states that she is unlucky for having been left at the Underworld's footsteps all alone._

 _Lucy wonders what has happened, upon looking outside a window she witnesses Plutogrim causing massive damage to Magnolia. Closing up her ears to block the racket, the Celestial Spirit Mage then receives a telepathic message from Mard Geer, who was broadcasting to everyone the annihilation of Fairy Tail, as well as putting a bounty on Lucy. As the soldiers cheer at the thought of ascending to the position of Nine Demon Gates, Lucy is swept away, as the corridor she is in is suddenly filled with water. Coming across some of the minions, the lone Mage easily defeats them using Fleuve d'étoiles. When another trio appears casting long ranged attacks, Lucy quickly summons Sagittarius and defeats them. Lamy then appears; Sagittarius' strikes fail and she recalls him, opting for Virgo and Loke to protect her from the arriving Torafuzar, however Jackal arrives as well, thereby escalating the conflict. Fighting for her friends, Lucy attempts to fight Jackal on her own but is defeated and tortured by his explosions. Determined to save her trapped friends, Lucy summons Aquarius despite her already having two gold Spirits active and collapses, prompting Aquarius to chastise her master._ _Aquarius catches Lucy and begins to fight, however Torafuzar makes use of the water to his advantage and attacks Aquarius, which opens up Loke and Virgo to explosions from Jackal. Collapsing from fatigue, Lucy is stood over by the Demons; Torafuzar walks away, not wishing to torture her, but Jackal kills Lamy before turning his attention towards Lucy._

 _Just then, Aquarius rises again and sweeps Jackal away with water before telling Lucy that none of her Spirits can take on Tartaros, though she tells Lucy that by destroying one golden key, she can summon the Celestial Spirit King. Lucy refuses adamantly at first, but at the behest of Aquarius, she sorrowfully sacrifices her key, which causes a tearful Aquarius to return to the Spirit World forever; the Celestial Spirit King then rains down and destroys Plutogrim, much to Jackal's surprise, and confronts Mard Geer, the Underworld King, whom he recognizes as an old foe._ _As Mard Geer expresses his surprise that there was someone capable of summoning the Celestial Spirit King, the Spirit in question observes that the Underworld King is still holding onto E.N.D.'s book. The Celestial Spirit King then vows upon Lucy's determination and his contract to defeat her enemies; the Underworld King welcomes the battle, their clashing Magic and Curse destroying the land. Elsewhere, Jackal again angrily demands to know what Lucy has done, though she continues to weep over Aquarius' key. Annoyed, the Etherious casts an explosion at her but, much to both their surprise, it is deflected by a water shield. Shocked, Lucy looks around hoping to find Aquarius before noticing her magic power rise and her wounds heal due to the Celestial Spirit King giving her Aquarius' power. Lucy stands and thanks both the Spirit King and Aquarius from the bottom of her heart. Frustrated, Jackal starts barraging Lucy with a series of explosions, which she easily defends using her newly acquired_ _ **Water Magic**_ _. Again resolving to cry later so that she can save her friends now, Lucy casts_ _ **Urano Metria**_ _at Jackal, defeating him, before she herself promptly collapses._

 _Jackal's defeat does not go unnoticed, as the other members of the Nine Demon Gates feel the disappearance of his power. Back at the battle between the two kings, Mard Geer notices that the Celestial Spirit King has slowed down with Lucy's collapse. After the Spirit silently asks for all her remaining magic, he casts_ _ **Galaxia Blade**_ _, which the Demon believes to be a full-frontal assault. The King smiles and Mard Geer quickly realizes that Alegria has been dispelled, freeing all those trapped and allowing interrupted battles to continue; the Underworld King is also petrified by the spell, and as the Celestial Spirit King returns to the Spirit World, Mard Geer expresses his malice for humanity. Meanwhile, Tempester, Torafuzar, Silver and Keyes all converge upon Lucy's location in an attempt to kill her, however Gajeel, Natsu, Juvia and Gray appear and intercept them._ _As the two groups face off, Gray takes note of Silver's presence and the Devil Slayer grabs Gray and teleports away from the battle. Before the others can react to this, Tempester attacks with his wind, but finds this ineffective against Gajeel, who is confronted by Torafuzar. As the groups fight one another, Keyes notes that things are not over yet. Juvia defeats Keyes, which ends his control via_ _ **Necromancy**_ _of Crawford and Silver, but falls unconscious due to his_ _ **Magical Barrier Particles**_ _. Natsu and Gajeel prepare to take down Torafuzar and Tempester. The two sides face off, with the Demons entering their Etherious Forms while Natsu and Gajeel activate their_ _ **dual element abilities**_ _. Rushing in to fight, the two Fairy Tail Mages initially put pressure on their opponents, who are unable to retaliate, however as the fight grows more intense, Natsu and Gajeel continue to dominate until the two inadvertently punch one another in the face. Seeing this, Lucy expresses her disappointment while the two argue about their fight. Suddenly, Torafuzar activates his Curse,_ _ **Tenchi Kaimei**_ _, which envelops the vicinity in black water. Unable to use his fire and having swallowed some of the water, which Torafuzar reveals to be poisonous, Natsu is rendered unconscious alongside the women. Gajeel eventually manages to defeat Torafuzar, and the black water recedes._ _Weakened from having to use up his strength, Gajeel is nearly preyed upon by Tempester, however Gray arrives at the last second and, recognizing Tempester as being the one to poison Laxus and the others, swiftly freezes him with his new Ice Devil Slayer Magic, vowing to destroy Tartaros after doing so._

 _A roar shakes the area; Natsu and Gajeel hear the roar and recognize it with grim looks on their face. Mard Geer himself hears and recognizes the roar of Acnologia, who has arrived to wreak havoc. Elsewhere, in his volcanic den, Igneel ponders if it is time for him to take action._ _Wasting no time, Acnologia rains destruction upon the area, and as he does so, the Dragon Slayers have strange, heart-pounding reactions to his presence. Mard Geer watches Acnologia rampage and theorizes that he may be after E.N.D.; Acnologia rises high into the sky and prepares to fire his Dragon's Roar, but as this occurs, Natsu hears Igneel's voice telepathically and he reveals that he's been inside Natsu all along, emerging from Natsu's body to do battle with Acnologia and protect everyone. As the two Dragons battle and everyone watches in awe, Natsu's group is flabbergasted that Igneel was inside Natsu the entire time. The sensation in the Dragon Slayers dissipates, much to their confusion. Gajeel asks Natsu if he knew about Igneel being inside him, which Natsu denies, though he then leaps to Igneel and grabs onto him, demanding answers. Igneel, however, is too preoccupied with keeping Acnologia at bay to answer. Remembering that Natsu is in a guild, he makes a job request: steal E.N.D.'s book from Mard Geer and in exchange, he will tell Natsu everything about his disappearance. Natsu complies and dives down to do battle with Mard Geer. After Igneel emerged from Natsu's body, a still very weakened Laxus arrives and takes on Tempester. Laxus manages to once again defeat Tempester, and successfully obtained some of the demon's blood that Porlyusica can use to create an antidote to the_ _ **Magical Barrier Particles**_ _that have infected him and his team._

 _Lucy manages to regroup with Elfman, Lisanna, Jet, Droy, and Warren and tell them that Gray is scouring Tartaros' building in search of more foes while Gajeel, Levy and Juvia are delivering Tempester's blood to Porlyusica for the Raijinshuu. Just then, Wendy, Carla and Doranbolt arrive and inform everyone about the 3,000_ _ **Face**_ _bombs. As everyone thinks of ways to destroy_ _ **Face**_ _; Warren's_ _ **Telepathy**_ _is thrown out as an option due to its limited range. However, Makarov contacts everyone with news that they have one more trump card as he walks out with_ _ **Lumen Histoire**_ _, and orders everyone to venture to Fairy Tail's basement, including Doranbolt, who Makarov wishes to have him wipe everyone's memory of the_ _ **Lumen Histoire**_ _after everything is done, including his own. Elfman however wishes to stay behind, as he feels responsible for the guild's destruction even though Makarov doesn't hold him accountable._ _Meanwhile Igneel leads Acnologia away into the sky, not wanting to involve Fairy Tail any further in their battle._

 ** _Face_** _bombs across the continent slowly begin to detonate, removing Magic from various areas. At this point, Igneel descends from the sky with a wounded Acnologia and tells humans not to give up hope._ _Elsewhere, Blue Pegasus attempts to destroy a_ _ **Face**_ _bomb to no avail with their Christina airship. Before they can do much more, a telepathic voice tells them to steer out of the way; Grandeeney bursts through multiple_ _ **Face**_ _bombs in an instant, leaving Blue Pegasus questioning what she was. Concurrently, Metalicana, and the thought-to-be-dead Weisslogia and Skiadrum, also destroy many_ _ **Face**_ _bombs one after the other as Igneel announces that the Dragons are here to save them, much to everyone's joy. Revealing that all the_ _ **Face**_ _bombs have been destroyed, Igneel states that E.N.D. can no longer be revived. Natsu then demands to know why Igneel and the other Dragons were hiding inside the Slayers, which he reveals is due to them not wanting to turn into Dragons like Acnologia. Before he can reveal the second reason, Acnologia rises to fight again; Igneel tells Natsu to grab the book as the two Dragons fly into the sky. Igneel tells Acnologia to leave the humans alone and that E.N.D.'s threat is no more, but Acnologia merely states that he only wants everything to be destroyed and attacks Igneel._ _Igneel is overwhelmed by Acnologia and tells Natsu of the second reason the Dragons hid inside their children: to wait until the time was right to defeat the Black Dragon. Igneel then tries to stop Natsu from joining the battle but fails and instead rises to confront Acnologia one more time; he tears off Acnologia's left arm, however in one strike, half of Igneel's body is destroyed by Acnologia. As he falls from the sky, Igneel thanks a tearful, on looking Natsu for giving him the best days of his life and the strength to love others as he is shot by Acnologia's Dragon's Roar, leaving Natsu distraught._

 _With the battle over and Acnologia having retreated due to his injury, Makarov laments Lumen Histoire's lack of use with Mavis while the Dragon Slayers reunite with their foster parents. While together, they learn several truths: Sting and Rogue had their memories manipulated by their foster parents regarding their deaths, as well as that the Dragons have not died, but are rather already dead; a result they attribute to Acnologia stealing their souls with his Dragon Slayer Magic. They explain that they were left half-dead because of it, and that they hid inside their children's' bodies to prevent them from "Dragonifying", to wait until the time was right to kill Acnologia, and to prolong their severely shortened lives, and add that they cannot return once they've left. As Natsu sobs over Igneel's fallen body, the Dragons' life force fades completely and they begin to disappear, but not before saying goodbye to their foster children and promising to adhere to the Magna Carta established between their two races four hundred years ago, which states that they must watch over and protect humanity. Igneel, before dying, offers words of encouragement to Natsu, who screams that he will get stronger and avenge Igneel, before saying that he is proud of Natsu and his new will to live. Lucy tearfully watched on with the rest of the guild as the Dragon Slayers said goodbye to the dragon parents, this time for good, and empathized with their pain as she has endured the same suffering in her life; first with losing her mother, and then learning that she had lost her father, and most recently sacrificing Aquarius' key in order to save her "family"._

 _One week later, everyone is dealing with the aftermath of the war on Tartaros; Makarov and the others stand before their guild's wreckage, where he announces that the current era has ended. Elsewhere Laxus awakens and deems himself to be unable to protect what he loves the most; Wendy has her hair regrown courtesy of Cancer whilst Panther Lily and Carla discuss the current mental states of their Slayer companions. Meanwhile, Natsu and Happy dig through their house looking for money, where they ultimately agree that their biggest worry is not money, but the letter Natsu holds in his hand. Lucy is finally able to lament the loss of her oldest and dearest friend, and spirit, Aquarius. Doranbolt stood in shock after learning that he is a mage of Fairy Tail who modified his own memories in order to infiltrate the Magic Council, Makarov announces that he will disband Fairy Tail, and then mysteriously disappears. Lucy meanwhile finds Natsu's letter in her apartment, learning that he plans on taking a one-year journey to become stronger, which saddens her. With everyone now going their own separate ways, the news of the disbandment of the guild, and still reeling from the loss of Aquarius Lucy,_ _feeling so alone and abandoned by her "family", falls into a pit of depression._

* * *

 _Lucy remained in her depressed state for several days after the disbandment of the guild and her "family" scattering to the winds to find their own paths to move on in the wake of the events of the Tartaros Incident. With the help of her faithful Celestial spirits Lucy pulls herself out of her depression and decides to move on with her life as well. Lucy accepted an offer to be a model for "Sorcerer's Weekly Magazine", which she is happy with doing for a time, but her true passion is to be a writer. She eventually convinces the Senior Reporter of the magazine, the hyperactive and overly enthusiastic, Jason, to take her on as an assistant. Lucy works diligently writing articles for the publication, while simultaneously tracking the whereabouts of her "family", though 4 members remain elusive; Master, Natsu, Happy, and Gildarts, who has always been elusive._

 _Lucy was given the monumental task of reporting on the upcoming "_ _ **Grand Magic Games**_ _", which is a big deal as for as her career as a writer goes, but makes her feel very melancholy because Fairy Tail is not there to compete, and neither or Blue Pegasus, Lamia Scale, Mermaid Heel, or Sabertooth. Despite Fairy Tail being gone, Lucy still proudly sports her pink guild mark on the back of her right; which is something her boss, Jason, has asked her about numerous times, and Lucy's answer each time is that it is a reminder of her "family"._

 _On the last day of the Grand Magic Games, she covers the match between the finalists: Team Dullahan Head and Team Scarmiglione. Despite Jason predicting Dullahan Head will win, Lucy sees through Scarmiglione's attempt to conceal their abilities during the previous matches. Sure enough, Scarmiglione comes out victorious, to Lucy's disgust as she figures all they really care about is money. Just as the tournament is about to come to a close, a cloaked figure suddenly enters the stadium. Lucy senses a strong magical presence, and immense amount of heat, radiating from the hooded figure down in the arena as it challenges the winners to a match. The figure suddenly releases a blast of hot air that resonates through the stadium, which easily beats the guild and at the same time melts the clothes of the spectators. As the mysterious person's hood falls off, Lucy is shocked to see the person has Salmon-pink hair. Soon after Happy manages to find Lucy, who is covering herself because her clothes had mostly melted away, in the stands and states that Natsu wanted to see the strength of the current number one guild in Fiore, while commenting that Natsu went overboard, again. Several other competitors try to ambush him, proving futile as he quickly defeats them. He then notices Lucy and greets her to which she smiles and greets him back. Lucy subsequently thinks to herself that Fairy Tail may not be gone after all, and is genuinely happy for the first time in nearly a year._

 _After Natsu's "accidental" destruction of Domus Flau, he is arrested, but his transgressions are forgiven by the King, Toma E. Fiore. As Natsu and Happy leave the palace they are met by Lucy, and when he curiously asks about the rest of the Fairy Tail members is answered as Lucy reveals that the guild has been dissolved, much to the duo's shock. Natsu tries to take his anger out on Makarov, as well as the rest of the former members, wondering whether they were fine with such decision. He is taken aback when Lucy notes that Natsu was also gone for an entire year, not caring about the guild at all. However, knowing that both Natsu and Happy had a lot on their mind, Lucy apologizes and brings them to her apartment. Natsu takes care of his appearance and then ends up telling Lucy stories about his travels until it's late, with Natsu lying down on a couch. Both he and Happy continue thinking about the guild's fate, however, it's not long before they decide to sneak into Lucy's room to draw on her face as she sleeps. That is when they witness all the information about the former guild members that Lucy has gathered. In the morning, Lucy wakes up just to find her place surrounded by the royal soldiers, because Natsu went and put up a message on the royal castle using his flames, signaling the revival of Fairy Tail. As they flee Lucy asks Natsu where they are going, to which he simply grins at her and says that they are going to get the guild back together. Lucy is reluctant at first, but she accepts and together they run out of town while being chased by the Royal Army._

* * *

 _Natsu and Lucy arrive at Tuly Village, where Natsu immediately recognizes the clock tower he destroyed during his earlier job. He ponders destroying it again, only to be slapped by Lucy in order to detract him from it. Natsu is visibly stirred from the lack of challengers, especially that his beloved guild was dissolved, leaving him without anyone to fight. He decides to duel with Lucy, which seems to be confident about her newly acquired abilities, only for Natsu to launch his pinpointed breath towards a group of thieves a certain distance away, precisely landing his attack and allowing the victim to reclaim his carriage. Later, Natsu and Lucy rest in Kotoko Inn, in order to plan their next stop in Margaret Town, which is the home town of Lamia Scale, which also is the new guild of their former guild mate, Wendy Marvell._

 _As Lucy, Natsu, and Happy arrive in Margaret Town, Lamia Scale's Thanksgiving Day is taking place. Observing the celebrations, they spot Wendy alongside Chelia Blendy, known as "Sky Sisters", performing a song, much to the joy of the celebrating people of Margaret Town. Natsu is set on taking Wendy back from Lamia Scale, only to be met by Carla, now using a human form, thanks to the Transformation Magic. Natsu, Lucy and Happy go to meet with Wendy and Carla, alongside other members of Lamia Scale. Natsu openly declares that he wants Wendy back in order to have her bolster the ranks of the rebuilding guild, only to be refused by her. During the talks, it is noted that Jura Neekis left Lamia Scale in order to become a member of reformed Magic Council, and that Makarov Dreyar received a similar invitation, but did not show up, leaving his whereabouts unknown since the disbanding of Fairy Tail. Natsu and Lucy head to rest in the Viper Inn, both pondering about Wendy's decision._

 _Soon after, Lamia Scale Guild is bombarded, and Margaret Town is attacked by monsters summoned by Orochi's Fin. Natsu, Lucy and Happy arrive at the scene and rendezvous with Lyon, who explains the situation. It is revealed that this is only a small fraction of the attacking force, as the entire force is composed of at least 100,000 attackers. Ooba Babasaama deduces that Orochi's Fin has a Monster Tamer in their ranks, so Natsu decides to attack their forces from the air using Happy, alongside Wendy and Carla. Suddenly, Chelia hijacks Happy from Natsu and decides to take care of the problem alongside her Sky Slayer counterpart._ _Lucy, Lyon and Natsu are poised to defend the town and its inhabitants. Natsu, mad at Chelia for hijacking Happy rushes at the invading monster army and decimates them as he moves towards the Sky Sisters' location. Lucy, at the same time summons Loke and utilizes her newfound_ _ **Star Dress**_ _, entering_ _ **Leo Form**_ _in order to defeat the monsters invading the town. Wendy and Chelia approach the location of the Orochi Fin's Monster Tamer, but are ultimately pinned down by the former Dark Mage of Grimoire Heart, now an affiliate of Orochi's Fin: Bluenote Stinger. As Bluenote prepares to finish off Chelia, Natsu arrives and grabs her, oblivious of the situation, yet seemingly unaffected by Bluenote's Gravity Magic. Natsu obliterated Bluenote with an extremely powerful_ _ **Fire Dragon's Roar**_ _; which surprises the Orochi's Fin members, and Wendy and Carla, who are baffled by the amount of power Natsu gathered through the year. After that, Natsu lectures Chelia that stealing is bad, but is reminded by Happy that Orochi's Fin are still on the scene, but the guild surrenders unconditionally in fear of Natsu._

 _Afterwards, Lamia Scale rejoices over their victory and thank Fairy Tail Mages for the help, while elsewhere, Wendy and Chelia talk about the battle and how Chelia wanted to protect everyone, only for Natsu to take all the glory. Chelia also tells Wendy that her place is in Fairy Tail, noting that both Wendy and Natsu love their guild and comrades, and that's why he wants to bring it back, and she reassures Wendy that they are and will be friends, even if they are under a different guild's banner. Wendy and Carla leave Lamia Scale in order to depart with Natsu, Happy and Lucy in their search for other members, with their next destination being Amefurashi Village._

* * *

 _As the three mages and two Exceeds reach Amefurashi Village, Natsu picks up on Juvia's scent and tracks her down. When they find Juvia they discover that her health is severely crippled because of her extended exposure to rain, and is brought inside her house to recuperate. Juvia reveals that she lived in the village with Gray for six months, until his body was slowly overtaken by black marks. Gray left her shortly afterwards, driving her into depression. Natsu promises Juvia to bring Gray back and rebuild Fairy Tail, so they can be a family once again, but later is visibly angered, prompting Happy to question his mood. Natsu reveals that he wants to go to Sabertooth, so trusting that Juvia is in good hands with Wendy and Carla Natsu, Lucy and Happy departed for the Sabertooth Guild._ _Wendy attempts to heal Juvia, but to little effect. Carla wonders whether Natsu, Lucy and Happy have reached Sabertooth yet. Meanwhile, the trio arrives at the location. Natsu tells Lucy that from that point forward, he must stop trusting Gray, unless his suspicions turn out to be false, but promises her to bring him back to the guild regardless. After a brief reunion with Sabertooth, Natsu ventures to find Rogue, who was with Minerva and Frosch at the time, heading out to fulfill a request. Natsu quickly takes Rogue to talk in private and urges him to give a look at his request, which is the destruction of Avatar. Natsu immediately gets suspicious and urges Rogue to stay in the town with Frosch, and tells him that he will take the request instead. Rogue is baffled and unhappy because of it, and Natsu quickly rushes with Lucy to Avatar, recalling what Future Rogue told him about Frosch's killer; the killer of the lovable pink frog costume wearing Exceed being Gray._

 _Natsu's team arrives at Mikage Forest and discuss the request that Natsu has taken from Rogue. Lucy explains that Avatar is a cult worshiping Zeref that is reported to be on the rise since the downfall of Balam Alliance and the Dark Guilds. Natsu, hearing this is ready to attack them, and explains that they might encounter Gray as an enemy, as Future Rogue said his ominous warning one year later. He also notes that the black marks Juvia mentioned were similar to what Natsu had seen on Gray's body during their fight with Mard Geer._ _Natsu prepares to storm the building through the front door, only to be stopped by Lucy, who notes that they don't know the enemy's strength and proposes to sneak in by the help of Virgo. Lucy also uses her_ _ **Star Dress**_ _in order to borrow some of Virgo's powers and burrow into the basement of Avatar's church. Lucy then proposes to keep out of sight, while searching for Gray's location. Natsu, however immediately disregards the stealthy approach and yells for Gray, immediately alerting the cultists. Abel, Goumon and D-6 confront Natsu's group, but are defeated without much effort by Natsu. Shortly after, Gray shows up, telling the cultists that Natsu isn't an enemy of their caliber and that he will deal with the_ _ **Fire Dragon**_ _ **Slayer**_ _himself. Natsu and Gray begin to exchange blows, and Gray asks what Natsu and his team are doing inside Avatar's base, to which Natsu replies that they have come to take him back in order to rebuild the guild. Gray, however has no intention of going back, stating that Fairy Tail is no more and neither feels any attachment to it now, which angers Lucy, who slaps Gray out of anger. Suddenly, Mary casts a spell restraining Lucy, distracting Natsu, which allows the defeated Avatar members to capture them. Natsu yells at Gray, telling him that he's possessed, but Gray simply responds that he's perfectly sane and joined Avatar by his own free will, showing his new mark to his former comrades._

 _Lucy and Natsu are imprisoned in the dungeons of Avatar's Mikage Forest base. Natsu, Lucy and Happy ponder Gray's downfall into darkness, until they are visited by Goumon, their interrogator. Natsu demands Goumon to reveal Gray's whereabouts, but Goumon reveals that Gray and the rest of Avatar left the area in order to participate in Operation Purify, and that he's going to extract knowledge from Lucy about the reason of their invasion by torture. As Goumon attempts to execute Lucy, he is frozen by Gray, who contacts a person through the Miniature Communication Lacrima about the infiltration plan being ruined, and gives it to Natsu. The person behind the call is revealed to be Erza._ _Natsu expresses surprise to Erza about an infiltration mission that Gray was undertaking. Erza reveals that she was looking into Avatar, as a group related to Zeref a half year ago, per request from Crime Sorciere and Jellal. Gray also reveals that he learned to control his black marks at will with Porlyusica's help. Gray reveals that him taking part in the operation was to learn about the book of E.N.D., and he expressed regret about not telling Juvia, because he was stopped by Erza not to cause any unnecessary harm or attention. Gray also reveals that Avatar consists of many branches operating independent, nor interacting with each other, which explains his prolonged work in the cult, trying to gain as much info on_ _ **Operation Purification**_ _as he could, and learned that this event gathers every branch of Avatar in order to kill innocent people and summon Zeref._

 _The reformed Team Natsu arrives in Malba City and starts to defend against the oncoming Avatar cultist army._ _Mages of the former Fairy Tail manage to hold off the waves of invading cultists, and prompt the top members of Avatar to take the matter into their own hands. Lucy is attacked by Mary, who once more infects her with_ _ **Virus**_ _, but is saved in time by Wendy and her_ _ **Sky Dragon Slayer Magic**_ _, allowing Lucy to launch her own counterattack. Elsewhere on the battlefield Natsu engages the leader of Avatar, Arlock, and lands a powerful damaging blow. Arlock, however laughs in the face of defeat and summons Ikusa-Tsunagi, one of the_ _ **Eighteen War Gods of**_ _ **Yakuma**_ _, as well as reveals the true purpose of_ _ **Operation Purify**_ _: a mass sacrifice that mainly consists of Avatar cultists, whose belief is strong enough to summon Zeref into the battlefield and lead those who remain. Natsu hearing this, angrily remarks this course of action as unforgivable, before engaging the enormous war god. Ikusa-Tsunagi unleashes his attack upon the scattered forces of Avatar and Fairy Tail Mages, who dodge it. The sheer power of the_ _ **Yakuma War God'**_ _s sword manages to split the ground open, but Natsu manages to climb up on it and make his way upon the head of the creature. As he counters Arlock's statement of true purpose of living, Natsu lands a powerful attack upon Ikusa-Tsunagi, which manages to shatter him into pieces, prompting Erza to acknowledge Natsu's increase in power._

 _Upon seeing the_ _ **War God**_ _destroyed, the defeated Avatar members just look on in disbelief at Natsu's strength. The rest of the army flees in terror as D-6 tries to rally them, however before Abel and he can do anything, they're quickly beaten by Gajeel and Panther Lily who arrive with the Magic Council Army to arrest all of Avatar. Gajeel and Levy reunite with the other members who reveal they have come after raiding the Avatar hideout and finding Gray's message along with a nude, tied up Goumon. With victory achieved, Gray apologizes to everyone for his earlier behavior, which he is forgiven for, and the group cheers at their success. At that moment, Sting and Rogue arrive with Lector and Frosch, initially intending offer aid but find that they aren't needed. Frosch then wanders off by itself and goes to talk with its fellow Exceeds, though Natsu quickly notices it and worries about it being near Gray, given that in Future Rogue's time, Gray is meant to kill the small Exceed. His fears, though, are put to rest when Gray simply hugs the Exceed, much to the chagrin of Rogue and the amusement of the others._

 _After the Avatar incident, Natsu, Lucy, Wendy, Happy and Carla return to Magnolia, having agreed to meet the others after they take care of personal matters. However as they near the site of the old guild, Lucy becomes nervous, remembering when Makarov announced to dissolve the guild after the battle with Tartaros despite much protest before disappearing. Lucy is afraid the other members might not wish to return after that even though she sent a letter to as many as she could find. However, she is proven wrong as one by one, all the prominent former members arrive looking to revive Fairy Tail, which causes Lucy to shed tears of happiness. Then, seeing all his old comrades return, Natsu digs into the rubble of their old building and pulls out the guild's flag, stating the Fairy Tail Guild has returned._

* * *

 _Five days after the formal restoration of the Fairy Tail Guild, the members begin construction of their new building in the crater where their old building once stood. Leaderless, several ideas to locate the Sixth Master are proposed; however, Levy states that they require an immediate Guild Master to complete the legal procedures for the Guild's revival. Meanwhile, a typical brawl erupts between the guild members, only to be easily broken up by Erza. Levy instantly notes down Erza as the Seventh Guild Master, much to the latter's surprise, and the approval of a member nobody seems to remember: Mest Gryder. Revealing that their former Master is in a dire situation, he leads Erza to the concealed_ _ **Lumen Histoire**_ _, forbidding anybody else from following. The rest of Team Natsu promptly trails them, blowing their cover only upon witnessing their Guild's greatest secret. Overlooking their disobedience, Mest then shares his memories about his undercover mission in the Magic Council. His main objective was to gain intelligence about the Western Continent, home of the Alvarez Empire, which attempted to invade Ishgar in X781 to obtain_ _ **Lumen Histoire**_ _, but were dissuaded by the threat of_ _ **Etherion**_ _and_ _ **Face**_ _. However, the aftermath of Fairy Tail's war against Tartaros left Ishgar with no defense against another invasion, prompting Makarov to disband Fairy Tail to protect the members, then departed to the Alvarez Empire in order to negotiate with their authorities and stall them as long as possible._ _In order to extract Makarov from Alvarez without impeding the Guild's revival, Erza decides that only the ones present in the chamber will participate in the mission. Mest also describes the reformed Magic Council to be under pressure from the potential war threat from the West, just like their predecessors. The supposedly secret dialogue is overheard by Gajeel thanks to his sharp aural senses. He begins to plan the reformation of the B Team from the Grand Magic Games, apparently knowing where to find Laxus._

 _Erza's extraction team sets sail for Alakitasia, deciding to resupply at Caracole Island and also get information from Mest's spy who is present there. As the rescue party approaches Caracole, only to notice the Alvarez Navy in control of the island. When Natsu and Wendy inform the others that their enemy's purpose is to roust out the spy, the team members disguise themselves as members of Cait Shelter to pass through the port authorities' inspection. However, they soon get into a skirmish with some of the soldiers who are about to kill a child. While Wendy and the Exceeds escort the child to its father and Mest heads off to find their informant, the remaining four defeat their opponents, then discuss their future course over a serving of Star Mango Gelato._

S _uddenly, the stall they are patronizing is destroyed by a person who introduces himself as Marin Hollow, a member of the_ _ **Brandish Squad**_ _. Erza and Lucy find themselves unable to use their magic and, after being informed that all forms of Magic that involve dimensional manipulation are nullified by Marin's_ _ **Spatial Magic**_ _, are forcibly teleported to his personal dimension. The Alvarez Mage then brings forth an utterly beaten Mest and engages Gray and Natsu in combat, easily outmaneuvering the two thanks to his expert combination of martial skills and teleportation. But his little game soon ends with the arrival of his superior, the_ _ **Shield of Spriggan**_ _: Brandish Mu, a woman whose humongous reserves of Magic Power absolutely terrify Gray._ _Brandish completely ignores Natsu and Gray and, disappointed to see the Star Mango Gelato store wrecked, declares that she will return, believing the spy to be insignificant as Ishgar is too cowardly to act against Alakitasia. She commands Marin to free the women he has captured, intimidating the man into obedience by raising the entire island onto a pillar of rock. Despite this favorable turn of events, Natsu stalls her departure by complaining about Mest's injuries, so Brandish seemingly disintegrates Marin as a form of compensation. She reveals that she is aware of their true identities and reassures them that Makarov is alive. She then returns to her fleet after shrinking the island to a mere pebble as warning to stay away from her Empire. A fishing fleet soon arrives to rescue the stranded population of the former Caracole Island. After getting his wounds treated, Mest teleports everybody to an underwater temple in order to meet the spy, Sorano, who discloses information about Makarov's whereabouts as the sailing temple_ _ **Olympia**_ _sets course for Alakitasia._

 _After arriving in Alakitasia, Team Natsu heads for the capital city of the Alvarez Empire, Vistarion, where Master Makarov is meeting with the Emperor, who is actually Zeref, much to Makarov's surprise. Zeref revealed that he is indeed the Emperor of Alvarez, having created the country and kingdom a long time ago so he may have the forces he needs to fight Acnologia and capture the Lumen Histoire or as the two know it, the Fairy Heart. Zeref also reveals that he will start the real Dragon Festival: A war between the humans, Acnologia and himself to see who survives. As Makarov and Zeref fight, Zeref overpowers Makarov, but_ _before he can deliver the final blow, Mest suddenly warps in, grabs Makarov and teleports away back to the forest where Team Natsu awaits. As Mest recovers, he informs the group he saw Zeref, much to Natsu's anger.[13] Makarov then laments the pointlessness of trying to negotiate with the Emperor, but Team Natsu assure him they understand his actions and inform him of Fairy Tail reforming, with Natsu telling him they've come to take him home. However, they're suddenly found by Ajeel whose power over sand allowed him to track the group. As Mest is low on Magic Power, he can only make one more teleport, and is saving it for reaching the shore to jump to Sorano's vehicle, Makarov orders everyone to run. They do so, with Erza driving a Magical Vehicle and Gray and Lucy trying to slow Ajeel down with their new powers. It seems to work until Ajeel creates a sinkhole under the vehicle, intending to bury them in sand, all the while gloating of his superior power. However, much to Ajeel and Makarov's shock, the group manages to bust out of the sinkhole before Natsu punches Ajeel in the face._ _Despite the hit, Ajeel recovers and unleashes a major sand attack on the group. Makarov manages to save Team Natsu proclaiming he won't let Ajeel hurt them. But the Spriggan Guard responds by sending a gigantic sand tidal wave at them that'll disintegrate everything. Just as it's about to hit, lighting suddenly vaporizes the wave. The group see that it's Blue Pegasus's airship with Laxus standing on it along with the rest of Gajeel's group aboard it. Seeing this, Mest teleports their group into it. When Ajeel tries to attack, Laxus sends a major lighting attack down to stop him, allowing the group to get away. Though August manages to save Ajeel thanks to a barrier he threw up at the last moment. Zeref, sensing this, states that things are just in the beginning phase. As everyone reconciles on the ship, Makarov smiles and cries, stating Fairy Tail is the best family one could wish for._

* * *

 _The parties all return safely back to Magnolia and the guild hall celebrates the return of Makarov. Erza quickly gives up her position as guild master to Makarov, now making him the eighth master. After a bit of partying, Makarov gets everyone's attention and apologizes to them for his actions in disbanding the guild. He also warns them that Alvarez will soon be coming for them, although Natsu assures him that the guild will be willing to fight, which everyone agrees with. Makarov then proceeds to tell them about the Lumen Histoire, but Mavis steps in and offers to do it herself, beginning to detail her past with Zeref and what lead to the current situation._

 _Mavis recalls her first meeting with Zeref in the forests west of Magnolia, who taught her and her companions Magic in order to battle Blue Skull and liberate the city. Her usage of_ _ **Law**_ _granted them victory and saved Yuri Dreyar's life, but at the cost of Mavis' ability to age. In year X686, Fairy Tail was founded, and shortly after the Second Trade War broke out between the feudal lords, where Mavis proved her genius on the battlefield, earning her the title of_ _ **Fairy Tactician**_ _. Mavis met Zeref once again in year X696 and thanked him for his tutelage. Zeref reveals his identity to Mavis, which surprises her, and reveals to him that she used Law, much to Zeref's shock. He tells her that her life-or-death choice brought_ _ **Ankhseram's Curse**_ _upon her, and the only reason it did not activate yet was because she did not value the lives of others due to her participation in the Trade War, but once she becomes aware of the preciousness, the curse will activate. Mavis then runs away to the guild in tears, recalling Zeref's words._

 _Mavis then attends the moment of Makarov's birth in the guild and becomes his godmother. As Mavis grabs Rita's hand, she unwillingly kills her, realizing that Zeref's words came to pass and horrified, she flees the guild, forcing herself on self-imposed exile, having outburst of_ _ **Death Predation**_ _taking many lives on the way. One year later, she is yet again encountered by Zeref, with Mavis visibly broken and wishing to die of starvation, yet to no avail. Zeref then explains what he has been up to all the time: creating_ _ **Etherious**_ _to kill him, as well as his involvement with Alvarez Empire, of which's construction and rule treats akin to a game. As he explains his reasons, Mavis notices that even his thoughts contradict each other while he is suddenly having one of his breakdowns, including his lifetime wish for Natsu to end his life, then him switching to a want to kill his brother instead. Mavis then vows to help Zeref to find a way to end their curses, proclaiming mutual love. However as Mavis and Zeref kiss, the power of his own curse overwhelmed Mavis', ending her immortal life and pushing Zeref even further into darkness. Having found something to live for again through love after previously discarding the value of life, it was the ultimate contradiction of the curse, causing Mavis to die even though she was supposed to be impervious to death._

 _Zeref, grieving over the loss of the person that was willing to help him overcome his curse, encounters his other student and friend of Mavis, Precht Gaebolg: the man who later will become known as Hades. Precht recognizes the Black Wizard and that he is carrying the First Master on his arms. After a brief conversation, Zeref unceremoniously drops Mavis on the ground, saying that he came to return her back to the guild. Zeref reveals his identity to Precht before walking away, comparing himself to a polar opposite of what Mavis was, a Spriggan to Mavis' Fairy, before departing to Alakitasia in order to continue running his growing Alvarez Empire, remarking that he shouldn't, or rather couldn't ever fall in love. Precht then senses a residual Magic source still dwelling inside Mavis' seemingly lifeless body and attempts to revive her, but to no avail. He later realizes that the magic was in actuality the still active_ ** _Curse of Ankhseram_** _, which left Mavis' body in a state between life and death. He then created a ruse about Mavis' death and made a fake grave on Tenrou Island, as well as became officially the Second Guild Master of Fairy Tail. Thirty years later, Precht's efforts ultimately gave birth to a limitless font of Magic, known as the_ ** _Eternity Magic: Fairy Heart_** _. Mavis also reveals that Zeref is most likely after_ ** _Fairy Heart_** _to make it a power source for his own forces in order to take down Acnologia. Natsu then reveals that he developed a secret, powerful technique sealed under the bandages on his right arm, powerful enough to take down even the immortal Zeref._

* * *

 _Lucy reminisces about_ _ **Fairy Heart**_ _, the reason why Alvarez wants to invade Ishgar, as well as her duty to protect it, since it's the body of their First Master, the person responsible for the foundation of Fairy Tail, the guild she met all the mages she befriended so far. Natsu and Happy manage to break into her place, and Lucy notes that the townspeople were already evacuated. Natsu also recalls the words Igneel left him: to speak about the future, which shall become a thing that will ignite his will to live._ _Back in Fairy Tail, Warren has established his radar facility that is supposed to detect enemy forces advancing around Magnolia. Mavis proposes that the forces should split in two directions: a diversion force stationed in the north, while the main force waits in the south. However, Alvarez fleet consisting of 50 ships assaulted the Guild's position from the air, using cloaking devices that inhibited Warren's radar, revealing themselves once they came in close proximity. Ajeel, the Shield that commanded the operation proclaimed that Fairy Tail will be reduced to nothing more, but dust._ _Mavis quickly has the bell rung to alert the others. Ajeel commences his attack only for the ships cannon fire to be blocked by a shield Freed puts up, though struggles to do so with Bickslow lending his own Magic Power to help. As Ajeel keeps up the assault, Mavis sends out the Dragon Slayers and their Exceeds to take care as many ships as they can. Meanwhile, Mavis has Alzack and Bisca ready a Jupiter Cannon in the hopes of taking down the main ship. Since the cannon takes 15 minutes to charge, they know they can't afford to miss. Bisca fires as soon as the charge is completed but Ajeel just deflects the shot though in scattering it, the shot does take out a few more ships._ _For the moment it seems the onslaught is contained and Freed being able to keep the shield up on his own._ _Freed and Warren soon find that the barrier has been penetrated by Wall who has his forces march into the city._ _Mavis warns the other members of this who rush to intercept them. Lucy starts to head out, but hears someone in her bathroom. Investigating, she finds Brandish bathing in her tub who states that Lucy left an impression on her. Brandish's presence is soon detected by Warren before he sees that three hundred air ships are heading from the North with three more Spriggan Knights on the._

 _Brandish orders Lucy into the tub, threatening to shrink her, the town and her friends if she doesn't comply. What's more she brought Marin, still in small size, with her. After she shrinks the neighboring house as a warning, Lucy complies though readies herself for a fight as she strips naked._ _Lucy gets in the tub and Brandish confesses she's not very cute, going on to humiliate her by making her wear cat ears. Brandish states she feels she knows Lucy from somewhere, but as her country doesn't get eastern magazines or know of the Grand Magic Games, she can't recall where. As Brandish forces her to wash her back, Lucy sees her unaware and vulnerable, which she then prepares to use Aquarius's broken key shard to stab her. However, Brandish suddenly realizes where she knows Lucy as she remembers her last name and she is the daughter of Layla Heartfilia. She instantly shrinks Lucy's house, forcing her to run outside. Lucy tries to ask how she knows her mother but Brandish refuses to talk about it. Cana suddenly arrives and forces Brandish away from her. Lucy reveals she managed to grab the capsule that was containing Marin and knocks him out by stepping on him. With Marin unconscious and his magic dispelled, Lucy regains her magic and puts on the_ ** _Aries Form Star Dress_** _to combat Brandish._ _Lucy and Cana look around for Brandish, who developed a sneezing fit as a result of the kicked-up pollen in the vicinity. Cana swiftly takes her out from behind, with both the female Mages agreeing to take her back to the guild._

* * *

 _As the sun rises, everyone reminisces on the previous day's battles and plan out their next steps with the other guilds joining the fray. Mavis unwillingly didn't want other guilds to join the fray, to which Laxus and Makarov both disagree with her standing, later asking Warren to report the current state of affairs. Meanwhile in the underground prison, Brandish is locked away in a cell, forced to wear_ _ **Magic Sealing Stones**_ _cuffs and shackles. Macao and Wakaba stand guard whilst making lewd comments, rewarding them with a hit to head by Lucy who again asks of Brandish of her relationship with her mother. Brandish refuses to talk, demanding Lucy to kill her, instructing her to make it fast. Lucy abjectly refuses to cooperate with Brandish's request; as all she just wants to know is what the relationship between her mother and Brandish is. Brandish repeats herself, stating that Lucy should hurry as this may be her only chance to do it. Cana intervenes at this point telling Lucy to quit trying, all the while a normal-sized Marin plans to infiltrate their guild from the outside._

 _Warren then gives the shocking news that the guilds of Bosco, Fiore's neighbor, have been wiped out by the Alvarez Imperial forces. However he also mentions good news of Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus going to intercept the enemies to the north while Mermaid Heel and Lamia Scale are traveling to repel the southern forces occupying Hargeon Town. Mavis then mobilizes the Strauss siblings, Gajeel, Levy, and Lily to assist the northern forces whilst Natsu, Gray, Juvia, Wendy, and Laxus are to provide assistance to the south. Natsu however is nowhere to be seen leaving everyone in the guild scrambling to find him, nevertheless Erza insists on taking the truant Dragon Slayer's spot, stating that he'll be fine. Mavis orders Lucy and Cana to keep watch over Brandish while saying the rest of the remaining forces are to stand by for Zeref's incoming forces, coming in from the west. Romeo questions who will defend the east, with Mavis revealing that the remaining Gods of Ishgar, along with Jura will take care of the eastern forces. Suddenly the Magic Radar picks up on Natsu's current position, who's flying at an incredible speed, heading toward Zeref's position._ _Everyone in the guild is up-in-arms with his latest selfish stunt. Erza tells everybody to have more faith in their comrade, with Gray now in her face, vehemently opposing this statement. Lucy breaks up the two's argument with Mavis concluding for everybody to put their faith in Natsu and continue on with their plans._

 _As Natsu faces Zeref, Dimaria and Wall take Hargeon, in the north, Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus are engaged with the enemies, repelling their initial forces, and in the east, God Serena, along with August and Jacob Lessio, encounters with his former comrades, the Four Gods of Ishgar and Jura._

 _Meanwhile in_ _her solitary confinement in Magnolia, Brandish is approached by Marin, who successfully infiltrated the guild. As Brandish orders him to remove her cuffs, Marin grabs her neck, beginning to forcibly strangle her, as he has decided that she "fails" in his eyes, pointing to all of the mistreatment and humiliation he received from her thus far._ _Brandish then awakens to see Lucy, Cana, and Porlyusica, who reveal to her that they saved her from Marin after she lost consciousness. Brandish assumes Lucy wants knowledge on her and Layla's past, demanding that in exchange, they release the chains binding her, not the_ _ **Sealing Stone**_ _, however. Lucy obliges; Brandish explains her that her mother, Grammi, was one of Layla's trusted servants, and the one she passed down Aquarius' key to when she could not continue to be a Mage. Lucy mentions that Aquarius's key was gifted to her by her mother, but Brandish asks Lucy how such a thing could be possible if her mother had the key: the answer is that Layla killed Grammi. A shocked Lucy vehemently disagrees, but Brandish takes advantage of Lucy's naivety and leaps from her bed, where she begins to tearfully asphyxiate her. During the struggle, a vase is knocked over, and from the water rises Aquarius, who saves Lucy from Brandish's grasp._ _Shocked to see her old friend, Lucy bursts into to tears while the two embrace after over a year. Aquarius explains her key has been reborn somewhere on this world, and with the help of the Celestial Spirit King she was able to travel to this world as he temporarily opened her gate. She then greets Brandish, admonishing and ordering her around after the two haven't met in so long. Aquarius then explains that Brandish's hatred to Layla is misguided, as she brings both her and Lucy to_ _ **Star Memory**_ _, a realm where one can see the memory archives of the past spirits and Mages. She shows the two girls Anna Heartfilia, a cerebral Celestial Spirit Mage, conversing with Zeref about their plan to send warriors to the future to defeat Acnologia, by using the_ _ **Eclipse Gate**_ _. Anna opened it 400 years prior, with the plan being passed down all the way to Layla, who opened it on July 7, X777 but did not have all 12 keys required to open it, as Grammi, who had the remaining one, was away in Alakitasia with Brandish. Layla used her own remaining life force to cover the last key which she fell ill from_ _ **Magic Deficiency Disease**_ _, worrying the returned Grammi as she promised her master that she will return Aquarius' key so she could pass it down to Lucy._ _After the two friends converse, Grammi leaves, not long after being approached and stabbed from behind by Zoldeo, who is angry at Grammi for being the reason of the dying Layla. She accepts her fate but requests Zoldeo not to harm Brandish as her dying wish, which causes Brandish in the present to break in a fit of tears as Lucy comforts her, wanting to be her friend as well._

 _Suddenly, the mood is turned into melancholy, as a tearful Happy brings in a despondent Natsu—pleading for help— utterly shocking everyone present._ _Stunned from seeing Natsu motionless, Cana and Porlyusica rush to the room, confused as to why Happy rushed his friend so suddenly past them. Lucy checks his heartbeat, which she confirms she cannot hear it, which garners Porlyusica to quickly attend to the Dragon Slayer, as she reveals an_ _ **Anti-Ethernano Tumor**_ _has arose in his body, developing inside of him from a mass exertion of his magic power and that without surgery, he can perish from the mass contaminating his body. Her reveal worries everyone, as she continues on to say no one on the continent of Ishgar is capable of healing the virus. Brandish then comments that her magic is capable of shrinking the tumor to a minuscule level that it would be harmless, requesting for the Fairy Tail Mages to remove her cuffs in order to begin the operation._ _Later, after the operation was performed, Brandish returns to her cell and is confronted and thanked by Lucy and Happy for saving Natsu, only for the Spriggan 12 to mention she wants to be left alone. Aquarius, after bringing Lucy to the balcony, tells her about her key is somewhere in this world, however, she lets the latter know she won't be able to spare clues on its location. Lucy complies, promising the Celestial Spirit she will recover it in on her own; the Water Bearer happily departing after hearing her vow._

 _Elsewhere, the Four Gods of Ishgar and Jura are utterly defeated by God Serena, Lamia Scale and Mermaid Heel have retreated due to being overwhelmed by Dimaria and Wall, and Sabertooth and Blue Pegasus have also retreated temporarily. God Serena, who was a former God of Ishgar before defecting to Alvarez, defeated his former comrades revealed that he is in possession of 8 Dragon Lacrima, and that he can wield the power of each of them together. After his revelation God Serena is utterly destroyed by Acnologia who had suddenly appeared; before departing Acnologia vows to destroy the other Dragon Slayers,_ _wanting to whisk away any remnants of the Dragons in his presence._

* * *

 _As the sun rises, the battle to liberate Hargeon continues as the Lamia Scale-Mermaid Heel alliance rekindles battle with Dimaria and Wall's forces; the two Shields of Spriggan eager to do battle once again. Chelia begins to take out some foot soldiers, not long after her clothes begin to tear away from the swipe of Dimaria's blade. The Valkyrie identifies her as the alliance's healer and moves swiftly to kill her but it struck away by Wendy, coming to the aid of Chelia. Gray and Juvia begin to back up a surprised Lyon, while Erza join forces with Kagura, who admits that their guild's problems is the reason for their allies aiding them against Alvarez. Just as Wall scopes out Fairy Tail's arrival, Laxus appears from behind and hammers him; Wall then absorbs his attack. The Machias prepares to retaliate, but it swiftly struck again by Laxus, who proclaims he'll take out the perpetrator who attacked his comrades: the Raijinshuu._

 _As Happy watches over a sickbed Natsu and a sleeping Lucy, he promises he'll find a way to avert a future that Natsu perishes along with Zeref. In the guild hall, Warren updates Mavis and Makarov on the state of the war, announcing that two of the 12 are downed but the eastern and western Alvarez forces are completely unaided by their forces, leaving them on a direct path to Fairy Tail. Even as the guild members rejoice that there are eight remaining of the Spriggan 12, Makarov ceases their happiness by mentioning there is no backup plan to take on the eastern and western forces, causing Mavis to ponder what she must do to take down Zeref._ _Lucy and Happy continue to watch over the sleeping Natsu, noting that he'll awake soon as the guild members rejoice that another Spriggan 12 has fallen. Makarov incurs on Mavis, who is worried about the movement in the east, not long after Jacob arrives to their guild, surprising the members as their locations appearing on the_ _ **Magic Radar**_ _was only a ruse. He mentions he went ahead of August because of their holiday and wanting to pay respects to the elderly mage, using his magic to transport all of the living to an alternate dimension, with only Mavis' ethereal body remaining. Jacob notices her, shooting and beginning to torment her with his magic, identifying her as_ _ **Fairy Heart**_ _, demanding where the weapon is being held. Lucy, saved from his magic by Horologium, surprise attacks the assassin from behind, but the latter flings a knife in her direction and she is defended by a rejuvenated Natsu. Their battle begins as Natsu charges to engage Jacob, the two going back-and-forth with continuous retaliating blows. Jacob suddenly vanishes in thin air, reappearing to attack Natsu from behind, then again to torment Mavis as he goes on to explain the nature of his magic:_ _ **Stealth**_ _, which is able to camouflage and mask anything he chooses to disappear. Lucy quickly summons Loke to illuminate the room, exposing Jacob but the assassin continues to overwhelm the trio with a physical, as well as invisible weaponry assault. He soon pins down Natsu and erases Lucy's clothes in order to subdue him, but the Fairy Tail mages use the opportunity to their advantage, knocking back the Spriggan 12 after he undoes the magic, all which garners Mavis' attention. As the_ _ **Shield of Spriggan**_ _begins to go in a fit of rage, Mavis comes to an epiphany on how to finally defeat the immortal Zeref._ _Natsu and Lucy continue their struggle with the assassin, exchanging blows while the duo takes the brunt of damage from the well-trained Spriggan 12. Jacob begins to get weary of the task, forcing their hand as he proclaims he will start killing off their captured comrades one by one, but is quickly stuck in a rut after Lucy informs him that Brandish is among the captured. Jacob quickly releases her and Marin, with everybody then confused as to why there are two Marin's present, the latter actually being Gemini, who uses the_ _ **Spatial Magic**_ _user's_ _ **Rules of the Area**_ _to negate Jacob's_ _ **Transport**_ _which returns all of the captured mages. Makarov soon punches Jacob through the guild, flinging Natsu in his direction to finish the deed with his enhanced fist attack, ending the threat of the_ _ **Shield of Spriggan**_ _._

 _After their bout, Brandish returns to her cell where she is greeted by an exuberant Natsu, thanking her for saving his life. She shuns him, speaking only of the impeding reality that her comrade, August, is on his way to the guild, stating that the war is all but over. Outside, the members begin repairing the side of the guild in which Makarov destroyed, weary of the feat of the elderly Spriggan 12 who is coming in their direction. Underneath the guild, Mavis and Cana are visiting the location of_ ** _Fairy Heart_** _; Mavis explaining to the latter that she has concocted a plan to defeat Zeref, but needs Cana to destroy her current apparition using_ ** _Fairy Glitter_** _in order to free her real body currently inhabiting the Lacrima. Cana digresses but Mavis urges her she must as this is the only possible route._

* * *

 _With August approaching Fairy Tail Natsu foolhardily decides he is going to confront August, the strongest among the Spriggan 12 who is currently on his way to the guild hall. However Brandish, now released from her solitary confinement, gives off the ominous proclamation that although August is the strongest man among them, the strongest woman is of the very same magnitude: Irene Belserion._ _Brandish then proposes that she will negotiate with August in order to ease his inevitable arrival. Mest casts doubts on her true intentions, but Lucy digresses his notion, stating she'll believe in her words. Soon after Brandish, Natsu, Happy, and Lucy head out to confront August. While they travel Natsu ponders of August's strength, which causes Brandish to say he would be obliterated the minute they battle. Natsu then exposes Mest who was stalking the trio; the latter saying it's risky to trust the Spriggan 12, whose restraints have been removed. After conversation about their travel method, Brandish uses her magic to increase the size of Happy, able to now support everyone's weight. While back in the guild hall's basement, Cana falls to her knees in an attempt to destroy the First Master's body, failing to kill her friend. Mavis says she carries a likeness to her friend Zera, telling her to continue her task in order to fulfill in her plan._

 _As Natsu's group continues to travel upon an enlarged Happy, they suddenly feel a massive amount of magical aura, turning out to be coming from the_ ** _Magic King_** _himself, August._ _Opposed by his comrade, August wonders what is the meaning of Brandish appearing in front of him, which she tells him she's here to negotiate a ceasefire with him. She asks of God Serena's fate, which the_ ** _Magic King_** _says he resides with him, going on to conclude that because she does not look tortured it can only mean that she's betraying the Emperor's very word. Brandish continues to explain her decision to August, explaining that their monarch is only out for blood, wanting a one-sided massacre. August tries to rebut her thought, but after Brandish's denial August eventually agrees to converse with the Fairy Tail Mages due to her request. However, suddenly, Brandish pulls out her dagger, enlarges it and stabs August with the blade, shocking everyone present. Natsu then turns to yell at Mest, who is the one who manipulated Brandish into stabbing her comrade. August, who is massively enraged, declares that their action in the negotiation only shows of their true colors._ _August, in his dark form, quickly puts Brandish to sleep, before casting an incalculable pillar of light, vastly damaging Natsu and the others. From the guild hall, some of the Fairy Tail Mages can see the vast funnel of light from afar, while in the basement, Cana successfully breaks Mavis' true body out from the Lacrima; the First Master mentioning her body is suffering from muscular atrophy._

* * *

 _Elsewhere, Irene and Acnologia fight in a wasteland, the two exchanging blast after blast, causing Irene compliments the latter, who is aware that she learned of her enchanting from the Emperor himself. She takes a sly shot at her Majesty, saying that he is simply somewhere enjoying the war as a game, before decidedly wanting to end it. The ground begins to light up, with Acnologia wondering what Magic this is; Irene telling him this is something never seen before, being a Magic of a new era. All around Fiore, the ground lights up as all the participants of the war look in wonderment, as Irene enacts her Magic unbeknownst to the world:_ _ **Universe One**_ _._ _From all around Fiore, the beaming light began to dissipate, awakening Mavis from the confusion, as she quickly comes out to the lobby to see Zeref sitting in a chair, stunning her. Elsewhere, Natsu and Lucy arise from the confusion, looking around in wonderment while Gray, along with an injured Erza, comes to see that everyone's positions might have been changed. By the shore lines, most of the members of the Fairy Tail Guild come to look around to what has happened, until Alzack locates the arriving enemy ship; Makarov preparing the group for battle. At the same time, Brandish shrinks August's wound, who figures the Magic was of Irene's, who purposely reorganized the map of Fiore to get the Emperor closer to_ _ **Fairy Heart**_ _, while banishing Acnologia to another location, which in turn changed the landscapes and territories of the country to benefit Alvarez._

 _After the shift caused by_ _ **Universe One**_ _Natsu and Lucy reunite with Gray, Juvia, and Erza, discuss what has happened. They suddenly hear a voice telling them to hurry back to the guild hall as their mother, Mavis, is in danger._ _As all the Fairy Tail members continue to look dumbfounded at the voice they hear, Gajeel's voice is heard in the broadcast which confirms to them it's an ally, initiating the race to the Guild._

 _In the Fairy Tail guild hall, Mavis and Zeref continue their stare-down, with Zeref rehashing their long-awaited reunion while Mavis internally discusses her plan to annihilate her former lover. Invel freezes her body, as he doesn't want her to activate_ ** _Fairy Heart_** _, but is scolded by Zeref who eventually is relinquished by the Winter General into inducing his_ ** _Ice Slave_** _upon her, which prevents her to think and move properly. One by one, the fellow Spriggan 12 are introduced to Mavis; Irene appearing before the two in exuberance with the army's morale gathering in one place. Zeref asks her to begin making an isolation enchantment, one that would be able to remove_ ** _Fairy Heart_** _from Mavis; this scares Mavis as Irene agrees. Zeref then declares that he will not allow another tomorrow for Fairy Tail, posted with his guards as they await the resistance. Far off in the horizon, Erza ponders whether or not the next dawn will be their last but is encouraged by Natsu who says there is no doubt they'll take back their guild from Alvarez._

* * *

 _As five-sevenths of Team Natsu glare at the countless amount of enemy soldiers surrounding their guild, Erza believes they should concoct a plan but Natsu overrules this, as he mentions their comrades are on their way. With that, Gray challenges Natsu to see who can defeat Zeref first; Natsu taking up his offer as the Fairy Tail Mages charge at the Alvarez military, unleashing their attacks upon them as more and more Ishgar warriors arrive to the battle. Suddenly, eight dragons arise from the ground as the_ _ **Historia**_ _of God Serena appears to impede their progress, utilizing three types of his_ _ **Dragon Slayer Magic**_ _, which shocks the heroes of the strongest Mage on Ishgar's power. In the midst of his barrage, a large crash comes down, splitting his Magic and land, as all wonder who has arrived, that person turning out to be Gildarts, who is hungry for the return of his guild._

 _In the guild hall, Mavis struggles in pain as Irene begins the process of removing Fairy Heart from her immortal body. Zeref sees her in pain, wishing for her not to suffer but Irene denounces his caution, saying that if he continues with that attitude he will never be able to overcome Acnologia; this causing Zeref to agree with her statement as departs the room. Neinhart appears to inform that the enchantress that he has located Erza, which Irene orders him to kill her if he cannot with his_ _ **Historias**_ _. The battles in the war zone continues, with Natsu and others encountering more soldiers; Natsu attacking them with a roar, but him, along with the others behind him, minus Gray, are frozen solid by an arriving Invel. Gray moves to attack him but is quickly throttled by the Winter General, who casts doubt that his ice can defeat his own winter. As Gray and Invel fight Natsu suddenly breaks out the ice prison himself as well as Lucy and Juvia, but not long after a super-sized Brandish comes and grabs Natsu, Lucy, and Happy, telling them to be quiet as she takes them away._

 _Walking to some ruins, Brandish drops Natsu and Lucy, who wonder what she's planning. She informs them that she doesn't want to hurt them, but states she will annihilate all of her friends and that this war is over for them as the 12 along with the army are too much for them to handle. This leaves Natsu to question if she thinks he will let her freely accomplish that all while a scorn Dimaria overlooks this conversation._ _Neinhart then appears and advises Brandish to step aside so he can destroy their enemies while on his quest to locate Erza has been initiated. Brandish says to fall back, which prompts Neinhart to attack her from thought of betrayal, as well as their enemies with his new attained enhanced body from Irene. Natsu denies his presence by blowing him back._ _With Neinhart knocked down, Natsu turns to Brandish to tell her if they are not comrades he will fight her, but the Dragon Slayer quickly collapses due to Brandish to enlarging his tumor that she previously shrunk down. Lucy violently questions her methods which Brandish retorts that he simply an enemy, beginning her soliloquy on needing to confirm and settle her inner differences, prompting Lucy to engage her swiftly in battle. The Spriggan 12 kicks her away, which Lucy then utilizes Scorpio and three of her_ ** _Star Dresses_** _to combat Brandish with, but each are countered by the latter reducing and magnifying her powers against her, overwhelming the Fairy Tail Mage. Suddenly, Dimaria appears to question Brandish's leniency over Lucy, theorizes that she could easily kill both of their foes but instead puts up a farce in front of her while holding back. She quickly cuts up Brandish for her actions, using her_ ** _Age Seal_** _once again to stomp on Lucy as she will torment the latter for corrupting her comrade's beliefs._

* * *

 _As Irene is in the later stages of removing_ _ **Fairy Heart**_ _, Zeref comes in the room asking her for some last waning moments with his former lover. As Irene she disagrees, the real Zeref hurries in the room to tell her that's an illusion created by Mavis, with Irene noticing the Mavis on the table is an illusion as well, leading Zeref to order her to pursue the real body immediately. On the cliff side, an escaping Mavis is taken to safety by Mest, while Gajeel appears to assist Jet and Droy who are beaten by the enemy troops. Levy sees his arrival, attacking him as she reminds him that he promised to take her back to the guild, something Zera oversees who is beginning to disappear due to Mavis' conscious being back to normal. The two reunite in her mind; Mavis thanking her best friend for everything she has done. Dimaria has locked up both Natsu and Lucy, preparing to deal their punishment while outside, Porlyusica finds a wounded Brandish, telling her the tumor she diagnosed originally was mistaken, being something much worse than she previously thought._

 _Arising from her sleep, Lucy awakens to see Natsu tied up as well as herself under some_ ** _Magic Sealing Stones_** _, which Dimaria appears to say that she was the one incarcerated the two of them. After playfully removing her bra, she then says she will torment her for ruining Brandish, beginning with gorging out her eyes. Lucy adamantly states that she doesn't care, leading Dimaria to begin and for Lucy to go completely blank, waking up to see the time goddess injured in the corner, murmuring that she couldn't believe what the power of E.N.D truly is. Brandish and the others arrive to her location; Porlyusica informing Lucy that the tumor she originally diagnosed wasn't made of_ ** _Anti-Ethernano_** _, but more of a demonic power laying in him, this stunning Lucy. Outside, a demonic Natsu runs around looking for Zeref, locating him at the guild hall but Gray, who is after Natsu himself, encounters his friend in a cold glare._ _Brandish reduces her wound but still has trepidation in her mind, but is encouraged by Lucy who says it is what makes someone human; with that the Celestial Spirit Mage departs with Happy in order to find Natsu._

* * *

 _As Gray and Natsu, now in his E.N.D. form, fight, and Lucy and Happy search the area for Natsu, The Mages on the battlefield begin to struggle mightily with them, while Makarov looks on this in grief while Irene explains that this enchantment increases the abilities of those targeted by it whilst their thought process becomes primitive as a side effect. As Erza continues to push through, Makarov declares this is the end of him, beginning to prepare_ _ **Fairy Law**_ _but Mavis tries to stop him as the more numbers it is used on, the shorter the caster lifespan will drain. Makarov tells her this is what a father must do to protect his children; casting the powerful magic to clear out the soldiers as the various guild members begin to weep in sorrow; his body completely immobile as he passes on to the next life._ _With the 8th guild master's body now in the next life, Mavis reminisces on being the one who named him, breaking down in complete despair before being comforted by Laxus, who asks her to continue to guide them with her wisdom in order to win the war. Erza bows down in respect of her fallen father figure, thereafter beginning to track her fellow comrades in Natsu and Gray, who are in complete deadlock in their battle to succumb one another. Back and forth it goes on, leading Natsu to take charge to deliver a decisive blow of Gray; who prepares his own attack on Natsu, but both mages are halted by a tearful Erza, who are belittled by the swordswoman for their foolish act of fighting one another._ _Stepping in between the warriors clashing, a tearful Erza bemoans their act, causing both Natsu and Gray to reflect on the past; recounting the times they've seen their comrade cry; something they both never wanted to see again, causing them both to stop. Erza pulls both of them closer, embracing them not long after thinking in her mind of the words of their deceased master, passing on their will to be a family to two them. Lucy, Juvia and Wendy then arrive, the trio worrying about the two; whom both collapse due to exhaustion from their battle. Soon after a huge explosion occurs, breaking parts of the battlefield, revealing to have come from Irene, who greets Erza after a long time. As Wendy internally monologues she resembles Erza, Irene introduces to the group that she and Erza are one of the same._

 _Erza then orders Lucy, Happy, and Juvia to take Natsu and Gray and retreat, which they do without complaint. They return to the underground chamber where Porlyusica and Brandish are. Porlyusica and Brandish finish attending to the wounds of Natsu, Gray and Juvia; Lucy worrying about the Dragon Slayer's new condition. Dimaria mentions he is nothing but a demon, saying that its things you never know about one another, comrades included. Lucy denies this stating she knows more than the Valkyrie would, but after explaining her reasoning on the comment Brandish and Evergreen made, everyone notices Natsu's body letting off a cold steam, worrying for what is currently going on with him. Porlyusica orders Lucy to strip and use her own body heat, plus some blankets, to keep Natsu's body temperature from dropping any more than it already has. While elsewhere, Irene informs Erza that she is her birth mother, and that she abandoned her in Rosemary Village. Irene, after witnessing Erza's strength and resolve, and remembering her past shockingly stabs herself, saying even though she murdered countless people she could not succumb to killing her own daughter because in truth she always loved her._

* * *

 _Natsu, miraculously recovers, and wakes up in the room with Lucy and the others. Not long after,_ _ **Universe One**_ _begins to dispel, with the country of Fiore returning to its normal state. Natsu and Lucy, at her apartment, then prepare for the final march towards their guild and Zeref._ _With Magnolia returned to its regular status, the climax of the war breaks out all around the city; Mavis commands everyone to use their familiarity to their advantage._ _Natsu and Lucy regroup with Brandish and a shrunken Dimaria; the latter walks away intending to stay out of either sides' way, while Porlyusica and Evergreen ask what became of Gray. Suddenly they feel the ground shake, as it is caused by August who calls his fellow 12 to destroy all for His Majesty, but is then encountered by Gildarts who engages him in battle. Natsu then quickly begins to depart, believing to know where Gray went, while meanwhile, the ice Mage appears at the doorstep of the guild, telling the man who is in his seat to depart at once, that person turning out to be Zeref._

 _While Gildarts and August are fighting in the streets of Magnolia, Gray is preparing to use_ _ **Lost Iced Shell**_ _on Zeref, but is interrupted by Natsu. Natsu then tears up to say that they are friends and he must live. Zeref points out that fate has determined what happens, with Natsu rebuking that theory, defiantly stating he'll burn away any type of destiny like that. While elsewhere, at Fairy Hills, Wendy has finished healing Erza and they begin to walk away from Irene's body but suddenly feel a huge magical power, that figure dropping in front of them, turning out to be Acnologia who states he is bored of this current world; this happening triggering August to solemnly state that their time is up._

 _As Natsu and Zeref begin their second clash, trading barbs as Zeref pushes him back and notices he cannot beat him without Igneel's power. They all feel Acnologia's presence so it incites Zeref to say Natsu will die here. On August's front, he mentions Acnologia has arrived and that without_ _ **Fairy Heart**_ _, it will be all for naught. Gildarts says he gives up too quickly, but August says it is because Acnologia will paint their future black and that his Majesty is doing everything for the sake of humanity._ _As Natsu and Zeref continue to trade blows, Mavis telepathically contacts Lucy and Gray to tell them to rendezvous with her quickly due to Natsu's fate in the balance, which causes both of them to curiously wonder why. Zeref, with his curse of contradictions acting up, becomes giddy while partaking in his battle with his younger brother, only for Larcade to appear shortly, casting R.I.P. on Natsu to aid his father's wish of killing him. Zeref then fills himself with anger,_ _then blasts Larcade for getting in his way. Zeref continues to shun Larcade, which Larcade wonders why his father would, leading Zeref to reveal he's another demon from his books that was created when in the process of reviving Natsu and that was deemed the strongest one of his attempts and donned the last name of "Dragneel". Larcade continues to cry that his "father" rejects him, which angers Zeref to the point of killing Larcade, something that Natsu punches his brother for and doesn't agree with his actions._

 _Lucy and Gray then meet Mavis, who has retrieved Natsu's book and that she plans to enact her final plan, telling them to let Natsu battle Zeref alone. Natsu in confrontation with Zeref tries to get through to him with emotion by acknowledging him as his brother, but Zeref rejects it as they begin their final face-off._ _Gray and Lucy decide to open Natsu's book while in the guild hall Zeref clutches Natsu's within his magic, while telling him of his fable_ ** _Neo Eclipse_** _plan; which in combination with the_ ** _Ravines of Time_** _and_ ** _Fairy Heart_** _he will reset time to when he wasn't immortal to live his life completely over._

* * *

 _Lucy opens Natsu's book only to have numerous characters fly out that Lucy concludes on it being Natsu's history. Meanwhile, in the guild hall Natsu is still in Zeref's clutches by the time Mavis arrives, saying that she will defeat Zeref, only for the latter to smirk that the final key to_ _ **Neo Eclipse**_ _has finally arrived. Natsu, entering_ _ **Dragon Force**_ _, burns away Zeref's Magic and tells his First Master that he will be the one to finish him off._ _While the guild members reconvene from the strong magical pressure that was released from the guild hall, Lucy and Gray arise to delve into more of Natsu's book, which Lucy suggests that they should rewrite the contents._

 _Lucy and Gray notice that many letters of Natsu's tome are breaking, which they conclude Natsu has been injured. Lucy then begins to replace the old letters, leading to Natsu to arise from the earlier strike to impede Zeref's plan once more. However, due to the tampering of his book, Lucy's body is affected by the contents, which causes both Happy and Gray to panic._ _The contents of Natsu's book begins to overtake Lucy's body, with her screaming in agony from the heat. Although she tries to manage it, Gray quickly uses his ice to cool her down as they he declares for both of them to save Natsu. Meanwhile Natsu barks at Zeref, who notices Natsu has been healed by whoever is tampering with his book, although he concurs that person will fall into darkness like those who tried to rewrite it in the past._

 _Natsu and Zeref's back and forth ends with both of them unleashing a powerful attack at one another, in attempts to finish each other off. Natsu overcomes Zeref's might which, at the same time, Mavis arises to finish off Zeref with her plan while Natsu bids goodbye to his brother after their final confrontation. With Zeref defeated, Mavis comes closer to her former lover, with both noting how much life has been a struggle for the two, something Mavis wants to fix. Zeref realized she never truly loved him, it's why the curse took her life instead of his. Mavis points to that thought being false, with her admitting she didn't reflect as much on her love for him. She begins to get affected by the curse of_ ** _Ankhseram_** _, violently hitting Zeref while mentioning she loves him. She decides to take both of their lives, kissing Zeref which activates the curse, in turn killing both her and Zeref. Elsewhere, Makarov rises from his slumber from_ ** _Fairy Law_** _being cast, leading to the guild rejoicing as the First Master has passed on._

* * *

 _Lucy finishes decoding Natsu's tome, falling down from the powerful demonic magic infusing in her skin. Gray uses his Devil Slayer Magic to exorcise the power, curing Lucy who then thanks him. Soon after, Natsu reunites with them and after rejoicing they four begin to head to the guild._ _While talking of what they plan to do next, the trio notices that Natsu has vanished which causes Lucy to break in depression even after she rewrote the book to unbind his life to Zeref's while in the sky, Wendy notices a crack is beginning to form._ _The crack in the sky is caused from Acnologia absorbing the_ _ **Ravines of Time**_ _, becoming a controller of_ _ **Time Magic**_ _. Everyone is fearful for their lives, while Acnologia declares humanity is all over, casting_ _ **Eternal Flare**_ _which decimates parts of the world. With his newfound power, he warps all seven Dragon Slayers into the dimension of the_ _ **Ravines of Time**_ _, facing Natsu as he prepares to slay the remaining remnants of Dragons to become the perfect Dragon in existence. (It is later learned the Acnologia's physical and spiritual-self have split, and his physical self is on a crash course towards Magnolia.)_

 _Everyone wonders what has happened to the Dragon Slayers, but Master Makarov ensures everyone by telling them to have faith in their friends. With everyone calming from their worry about the Dragon Slayers, they all become fearful of the black dragon's awesome destructiveness, and what it could do to the world Lucy comes up with a plan that might work, but in order for it to be carried out she needs to go to the guild's library, and the others need to lead Acnologia out of Magnolia and towards Hargeon._

 _Lucy, along with Happy, Levy, Freed, and Makarov head for the guild while everyone else splits up to make preparations for Lucy's plan. Her plan is to lure Acnologia to Hargeon and onto a ship, hoping that he is as susceptible to motion sickness as the other Dragon Slayers, and then cast_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _to trap him. As the group search the guild's library for the book that will tell them how to perform_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _Acnologia unleashes a devastating breath attack that destroys half of the guild shaking up those inside. Because of the shockwave from the attack Lucy ends up buried beneath a pile of books, but then emerges with the book she needs to carry out the plan of trapping Acnologia. Happy then picks Lucy up and flies as fast he can towards Hargeon while Lucy reads the book._

 _After Acnologia unleashed his breath attack that destroyed half of the Fairy Tail guild hall, the others were successful in garnering the black dragon's attention and leading him to Hargeon where another group was procuring a ship large enough for the dragon to land on. Upon reaching the port, Acnologia instinctively nukes all the ships in an effort to prevent his weakness._

 _When Lucy and Happy arrive they are devastated to see that all of the ships have been destroyed, but Gray and Lyon step up, and combining their_ _ **Ice-make Magic**_ _create a ship. Acnologia is then lured upon the ship, and Lucy guides everyone into forming_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _, by combining their powers. They are successful in trapping Acnologia, but he continues to rampage even with_ _ **Fairy Sphere**_ _encasing him, leading to Meredy saving the day by linking all of the Mages on the continent's power to help reinforce the_ _ **Defense Magic**_ _. Acnologia's body begins to disintegrate, leading to Ishgar's victory and their future secured._

* * *

 _While Lucy and the others are fending off Acnologia in his dragon form, Acnologia has trapped the Dragon Slayers within the_ ** _Ravines of Time_** _. Through the thoughts of their loved ones, the Dragon Slayers break free of the crystalline pillars that Acnologia had trapped them, with the Dragon King challenging the last of the dragon slayers. The seven Dragon Slayers begin to fight against Acnologia within the_ ** _Ravines of Time_** _only to get beaten down. Wendy then enchants the six other Dragon Slayers' Magic upon Natsu. Natsu, with the combined power of the other six Dragon Slayers, defeats the spiritual form of Acnologia which in turn disintegrates his physical form, leading to Ishgar's victory and their future secured._

* * *

 _In the year X793, Lucy won an award for her new book while all the guilds in the country of Fiore move on with their lives. Hisui pardoned Crime Sorciere of their crimes, allowing them to live on to the future. Lucy thanked Natsu for everything he's done for her over the many years and countless battles. Yes, life has truly begun to return to normalcy, but Lucy is still consumed by a darkness lurking within her; a dark nothingness that began to form 16 years ago on July 15 X777 when her mother passed away after suddenly contracting_ _ **Magic Deficiency Disease**_ _. In the intervening time between the end of the war and winning an award for her book Lucy met her ancestor, Anna Heartfilia, and learned the truth behind her mother's death; she had sacrificed her own life in lieu of Aquarius' key in order to open the_ _ **Eclipse Gate**_ _on July 7 X777 in order to bring Anna and 5 Dragon Slayer children through from 400 years in the past- three of those children were Natsu, Lucy's best friend, Wendy, Lucy's surrogate little sister, and Gajeel, Lucy's gruff surrogate older brother. The reason that Lucy's mother, Layla Heartfilia, opened the gate when she did is because she did not want the responsibility that had been passed down the Heartfilia line to fall to Lucy; not because Layla didn't think that Lucy would be capable, but because she wanted Lucy to life a normal life without such a heavy burden to bare. Lucy also learned that it was Anna who knitted the scarf that Natsu holds so dear, and taught the Dragon Slayers how to read and such, but Natsu refused to pay attention and was always picking fights with Gajeel; Wendy of course was the best student._

 _Lucy sadly watched as Natsu announced to the guild that he and Lisanna were mates, which is draconian for being a married couple, as she had been deluded by herself and others into believing that she and Natsu would end up together. But Lucy laughed her ass off when Gajeel confessed to Levy that she was is mate, something the little blue-haired bookworm had known for quite some time now. Lucy also watched as other members of the guild started pairing off: Laxus and Mirajane, Elfman and Evergreen, Cana and Bacchus (much to Gildarts displeasure), and even Happy and Carla (he finally found something to give her that wasn't a fish that she would accept). But Lucy didn't let the lack of a love life of her own get her down; she instead focused on training to better her magic, and searching every chance she could for Aquarius' reborn key._

 _It was because of her focus on training that led Lucy to stumble upon Crime Sorciere's encampment in the forest just outside of Magnolia on the morning of Magnolia's famed Hanami Festival. Upon learning that they were there for the festival, and none of them had had a proper bath in months, Lucy invited the girls of Crime Sorciere back to her place to bathe and told the guys to head to the guild to use the baths there. Lucy had also noticed just how attractive a certain maroon haired member of Crime Sorciere, Cobra, was; especially with no shirt on._

* * *

 _Later as the festival was getting underway Lucy received word from Aquarius with a hint about where to find her reborn key: "back where it all began for us", and for her to get herself a boyfriend. It was then that Lucy resolved to stop waiting for love to find her, and seek it out on her own. So, she approached Cobra and asked if he would like to spend the festival alone with her, which he agreed to as he was about to ask Lucy the same thing. It was during this time that Cobra admitted that Lucy is his mate, and asked if he could court her first before they mated which Lucy was most happy about; and for the first time in years Lucy didn't feel quite so hollow._

 _The next day Lucy was guiding Crime Sorciere to her family's estate because she had offered it to them as their guild's headquarters since they were going to become a legally recognized guild. Lucy had also deduced that Aquarius' key would be found near the fountain in her mother's garden, which is where Lucy had first met the mermaid Zodiac Celestial spirit. Upon reaching the esteemed estate of the Heartfilia's, Lucy went in search of Aquarius key; excited to finally be reunited with her oldest and dearest friend and spirit whom she considers as a second mother._

 _Lucy found the key and reunited with the water-bearer spirit only to be interrupted by Brandish suddenly appearing. After things had settled down after Brandish's arrival Lucy introduced her boyfriend, Cobra, to Aquarius and Brandish, and Cobra let slip that Aquarius was hiding a secret that pertains to Lucy and Brandish. Aquarius explained to the two of them that there was more to the relationship between their mothers that she didn't tell them the last time she had been in the human world; Layla Heartfilia and Grammi Mu were lovers, and that Jude Heartfilia is the father to both of them as he was also lovers with Grammi._

 _The two, previously estranged, sisters cried and Cobra did his best to comfort them. Lucy invited Brandish to stay, at least for the night anyways, and eventually talked Brandish into staying permanently and joining Crime Sorciere. Brandish agreed to stay permanently so as to get to know her sister better, and to joining Crime Sorciere. That night Brandish received her guild mark in the same location as her Alvarez mark- her right thigh. After that Lucy, Cobra, and Brandish retired to Lucy's childhood bedroom where they all took a bath together, and then went to bed._ _And that is how Lucy now found herself naked in bed with her ruggedly handsome naked maroon-haired boyfriend/mate next to her and her beautiful and busty naked green-haired sister on his other side, and staring at his handsome face thinking about her life and how it had gotten to the point is was at right now._

 _ **END FLASHBACK**_

* * *

It was then that Lucy realized for the first time in over 16 years she didn't feel the hollowness that had been there for so long. For the first time, back where her life and the hollow feeling began, Lucy was truly happy. And why wouldn't she be happy; she has a wonderful, handsome, attentive boyfriend/mate, and a beautiful sister whom she didn't know she even had, but had always wanted. Lucy's life was finally getting good.

* * *

 **Well, there you have it my precious little Fairy Freaks. It took me three chapters, but I FINALLY got through Lucy's feeling of being Hollow, and how she isn't any longer. I want to thank you all for hanging in there while I finished this; I know it couldn't have been easy, because I can tell you that writing this was fucking hard as hell.**

 **Next up is "Serpent". It won't take me nearly as long as this has. But I will tell you all this; it may get a little "wet", so be prepared. ;) Until next time. Please, favorite and follow if you haven't already, and PLEASE leave reviews; it's the only way I know if I'm doing a good job or not.**


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